Went through the old postings, not sure if someone posted this
article.
Did surcharge created problems like less taxi at certains places
and timings?
http://therealsingapore.com/content/irritating-taxi-surcharges
Last night (9 Mar), at
around 7pm, a PRC couple in their early thirties boarded my taxi at
Mandarin Hotel in Orchard Road and wanted me to take them to Night
Safari in Mandai Road. I hit the fare meter and instinctively knew
from years of dealings with PRC tourists that dark clouds of
trouble would soon be forming in the horizon. From my rear mirror,
I spied the couple starring at my fare meter with disbelief looks
and mumbling with indignant expression on their faces. As
anticipated, an angry voice soon pierced into my ear.
“Why your meter show two
separate fares? the young man queried loudly in perfect
American accent.
“Young man, you don’t
have to shout. I can explain thoroughly”. I responded and wished I
had not picked them earlier or I could kick them out of my cab
instantly.
The various taxi
surcharges in Singapore has given me a lots of trouble with
tourists, as well as some locals till today. Explaining to those
not familiar with our complex taxi surcharges is never a problem. I
usually point to the stickers on the window specifying all the
surcharges when they doubt my words and explanation. I also invite
them to call a third party to verify my truthfulness. Sometime, I
would halt my taxi and continue the trip only when they are fully
satisfied and agreed to pay the surcharges.
I am not a pugnacious
person but I get infuriated when some querulous customers used
combative tone and is disrespectful when querying the metered fare
they had to pay. Some, on rare occasion, simply refused to pay the
surcharges at the end of the trip. Whichever the case, I usually
bit the bullet and let them take advantage of an elderly driver. It
is better to spend the time ferrying another passenger than waste
it arguing with such scumbags or at police post writing statements
of claim.
As a taxi driver, I find
the various surcharges rather repugnant and confusing for
commuters, though it helps to bring supply of taxis to demand at
certain hours and places. Honestly, my earning had improved
recently because of the many increased surcharges. On the other
hand, many commuters are understandably pissed off with having to
pay surcharges on top of the metered fair, like paying extras for
having warm water in a restaurant.
I fail to understand why
our our million dollar transport minister, with his team of
brilliant scholars at LTA, is still not able to solve the dilemma
of surcharges? After decades, they still say that taxi fares and
surcharges are basically commercial decisions and therefore,
Government do not intervene in commercial policies. To them, it’s
the easiest way out of a complicated situation.
I am aware that
individual taxi operators set the fare for their fleet. However, if
LTA, as a regulatory body can mandate the minimum 250km/day rule to
improve taxi availability by getting rid of taxi drivers who use
the cab as a personal car, surely they can also mandate a
restructure taxi fare rates in the same vein.
Now, has the current
taxi surcharges outlived it’s purposes? Is a simplified taxi fare
structure possible and workable? Do I have a suggestion?
Yes, hear me out. It
might sound absurd.
1. Remove the 25%
surcharge for peak hours in the morning and evening and 50% for
mid-night, together with the $3 CBD surcharge completely. Instead,
factor all these complex surcharges into two simple flat rates
– normal and after midnight rates. Our LTA scholars can
easily do the mathematics and produce the new simplified flat
rates. Comfort or other taxi operators will not do it and I will
explain why later.
No CBD surcharge? The
whole of Singapore is now CBD with the new rate! No fuming
commuters at fringes of CBD. Drivers will still go to where the
crowds are.
2. No taxi at airport,
cruise terminals, EXPO and RWS? Location and booking surcharges
will remain.
3. Shangrila Hotel charges a higher
room rate than Hotel 81. So, Chysler’s taxi will have a higher flag
down fare and the fare meter will run faster than a Toyota Crown
taxi..
The fare meter will now
show only a single fare, except when location and booking surcharge
are applicable.
If a simple normal and
after midnight rates is implemented, taxi commuting will inevitably
become more expensive like many things in Singapore. It will also
become a premium mode of transport for those who can afford it,
like in Tokyo, London and New York. Fringe taxi commuters will be
eliminated and demand for taxis will drops drastically. Taxi
drivers who cannot take the heat will leave the kitchen.
Eventually, an optimum level will arrive where demand for taxis
will meet availability, without confusing
surcharges.
I dread such a day, as I
would probably end up as a security guard or kitchen dish washer
and helps to alleviate the shortage of workers in these industries.
However, such a day will never come. Why?. Because, Comfort’s
garages will be parked with thousands of redundant taxis when
drivers leave them due to falling taxi commuters, resulting from my
restructured meter fares! So, Comfort will never let that
unthinkable situation of idling assets parking at garages to happen
and therefore, will not change the status quo. Instead, they would
try to muster as large a fleet of taxis as they can to popup their
bottom line, with scant regards to taxi drivers survival. This is
where and when LTA should step in to mandate them to set a simple,
fair and sustainable taxi rates without drastic impacts or
trade-offs for all stakeholders. I think LTA will continue to say
that setting taxi rates is not their business. So, we are back to
square one! sigh!!!.
Some people has the
wrong assumption that taxis are essential public transport services
like buses and trains. But they are not. Taxi companies are
essentially private business enterprises and taxi drivers are
self-employed workers, both without Government subsidies, though
they operate under LTA regulations. It may be good to re-examine
some old assumptions and make wide ranging changes. At the heart of
every change, there will always be trade-offs and impacts. Most
importantly, trade-offs and impact must be sensible and
sustainable.
Now, coming back to the
PRC couple. They paid the full fare at destination after my
thorough explanation.
James Lim
*Article first appeared on http://cabby65.blogspot.sg
