The surcharge menace
WHILE more passengers may be choosing to book a taxi instead of
flagging one down, I think it is presumptuous to attribute it to a
stronger economy ("More book taxis in stronger economy"; Jan
18).
I was back in Singapore recently for a short visit and without a
shadow of doubt, it has become extremely difficult to flag down a
taxi in the streets.
Every time, I had to wait for at least 20 minutes to 30 minutes
before I could get one. Many empty taxis zoomed past with the "on
call" sign on, but none stopped at the taxi stand. Even those that
were dropping passengers at taxi stands did not pick up new
fare.
On several occasions, I have seen rows of taxis waiting with
engines idling at side roads with their "on call" signs on. One of
those places is Queen Street.
The taxi drivers are very smart. They know that if they ply the
streets hoping to pick up passengers, it would be a game of chance.
However, if they just parked at a street corner and waited for a
booking, their chances would be far better.
When the bookings come in, they can select a preferred one - for
example, those going to the casinos or airport - and ignore those
that they don't want - for example, those going to Tuas.
And by waiting at corners like Queen Street, they know their
chances of getting a fare go up exponentially. Orchard Road and
Bras Basah are busy areas and cabbies are confident they will
receive a booking within a couple of minutes.
The reason cabbies prefer bookings over casual street fares is
the multitude of surcharges they earn from taking booked calls.
After having been away for two years, I was shocked to note, on my
return home, how costly a taxi ride had become.
For instance, one taxi ride cost $4.60, but the surcharges
bulked up the total fare to $11.40. Isn't it bizarre that the
surcharges add up to more than the actual ride cost? If a
Singaporean like me is confused and annoyed, imagine what a tourist
would be thinking? Most likely, that he has been ripped off. I
can't recall any other place with such a convoluted taxi fare
system.
If we cannot live with a free-market system, let's switch to a
full booking system like in New Zealand. The Land Transport
Authority should be under no illusion that all is well and there is
no need to fix the problem.
Patrick Tan