From iTODAY:Cabbies still selective of passengers, despite
warnings
Letter from Peter Tay 04:45 AM Jul 09, 2011
THURSDAY night was my third attempt to flag down a
cab along Ganges Avenue. I waited for one from 10.15pm to 10.45pm
and no fewer than 30 of them passed by. Many had their rooftop sign
set to “busy” even though there were no passengers. Some actually
switched from “available” to “busy” the moment they spotted me.
One cab dropped off a passenger near me and waved me off even
before I could approach him.
I went up to him anyway and he curtly said he needed to pick his
brother up from the hospital. It did not sound as truthful as it
was patronising.
It was only when I walked into a smaller lane that I managed to
stop a cab, probably only because it did not have enough space to
manoeuvre past me.
I queried the driver about the situation and he admitted that
cab drivers get an additional S$3 by picking up passengers from
town and, hence, avoid picking up anyone just beyond it.
When I had previously encountered the same situation, I called
ComfortDelGro. The customer officer took the matter seriously, got
back to me within a couple of days and said the relevant cab
drivers had been warned and discouraged from being selective of
passengers.
The cab driver who picked me up also said it was common for cab
drivers to avoid picking up passengers just before midnight so they
could benefit from the surcharge – a practice which is common
knowledge among commuters.
Such issues raise a huge question mark about the integrity of
taxi drivers. If this is a matter of incorrigibility and no amount
of persuasion or warning works, then it is obvious the relevant
authorities should consider a different strategy.
For example, midnight charges could be staggered by 10-per-cent
increments every 20 minutes so drivers would not be tempted to wait
past midnight to earn that full 50-per-cent profit.
From iTODAY:Errant cabbies will give Singapore a bad
reputation
| Jul 12, 2011 6:00 AM
I refer to the letter from Mr Peter Tay, “Cabbies still
selective of passengers, despite warnings” (July 9). My family and
I faced the same problem on Saturday, along Serangoon Avenue 3 at
about 10.30pm.
As with Mr Tay’s experience, more than 20 empty taxis went past
us with the sign “busy” turned on. It was anyone’s guess that these
cabbies were just waiting to profit from the midnight surcharge or
for people to dial a cab.
If this is happening in an area outside of town, I am sure it
has become commonplace practice. It is ironic that the taxi service
which is meant to transport passengers in the late hours could be
manipulated by these errant drivers for their own selfish
means.
This would not reflect well on the standards of taxi services in
Singapore. I urge the relevant authorities to look into the problem
urgently and find a solution to put a stop to this before these
errant cabbies give the country a bad reputation. Letter from Chan
Lai Ying.
From iTODAY:Vicious cycle of taxi surcharges, ‘false’ demand
Letter from Lyn Tai | Jul 13, 2011 6:00 AM
I REFER to the letters from Mr Peter Tay, “Cabbies
still selective of passengers, despite warnings” (July 9) and Ms
Chan Lai Ying, “Errant cabbies will give Singapore a bad
reputation” (July 12).
I fully agree with the writers and I strongly urge the relevant
authority to consider scrapping the midnight and town-area
surcharges, at the same time capping the phone booking surcharge to
a maximum of S$1 irrespective of the time of booking.
These surcharges have been the perennial problem as clearly some
cabbies have exploited them to create a “false” demand which in
turn leads to the justification of the endless extra charges by the
taxi companies, with the passengers bearing all of the cost.
If the surcharges are eliminated, those errant drivers who are
perpetually “busy” cruising and waiting for phone booking and
midnight charges will no longer have any incentive to do so.
They will simply have to return to the basic and fair method of
earning the fares, that is to pick up any passengers who flag them
down.
One of my kaki , driving a Red Wish , also a forum kaki here ,
got a 2 weeks suspension from LTA for not picking up paxes at Royal
Plaza at Scotts .
He first was sent to LTA for kopi , u know what ?
His explanation will be like yours , if u got caught : " I want
to go into CBD for that $3 CBD surcharge ! There don't have "
U know what did that LTA enforcement said to him ?
" We know u all want to go into CBD for that $3 , but why did
you not put BUSY ?"
" U put Taxi , we have difficulties in explaning to
complainant ."
Pong ! Hammer down , 2 weeks suspension , $300 fine .
Bastard right those LTA people ?
