Feb 20, 2012 - ST Forum
ON FEB 11, I hailed a taxi at around 5.40am from a bus stop in
Lavender Street, opposite the Singapore Casket Company, to take me
to Terminal 1 at Changi Airport.
On arrival at Changi, the taxi meter read $16.10 but the driver
punched a screen on the dashboard and it became $23.59.
The driver claimed the amount included a surcharge and he handed
me $6 from the $30 I tendered. The surcharge was almost 50 per cent
of the basic taxi fare on the meter.
I have often been taken for such expensive rides by Singapore
taxis and I usually prefer to use the MRT system which is quick,
clean and efficient.
Apart from some recent technical problems, the MRT is the best
mass transport system in the region. The only problems with the MRT
are caused by residents.
Young passengers crowd the doorway making it difficult for
passengers to disembark. Also, when the doors open on arrival at a
station, people on the platform rush to enter without waiting for
disembarking passengers to alight.
Often, students in school uniform take up seats when older
people, especially women, are forced to stand.
I like to amble along the footpath of Bencoolen Street to my
favourite food destination, the Beach Road Scissor-cut Curry Rice
stall in Jalan Besar. But the footpath along Jalan Besar is a major
obstacle course blocked by bins and chairs and tables of many
restaurants, forcing pedestrians to walk in the gutter facing the
fast-moving traffic in Jalan Besar.
Cars are often parked directly in the corners of side streets
slowing pedestrian progress, and many retailers claim the footpath
as their own retail space. It seems Jalan Besar is an 'enclave' not
regularly or effectively policed by the authorities.
Finally, I often visit the post office in Rochor Centre armed
with an assortment of books, cards and letters to be dispatched.
The service is always efficient and polite and within minutes, my
mail is processed with a minimum of fuss.
But it is a pity that the excellent customer service of
Singapore Post in Rochor Centre has not been embraced by other
sections of the Singapore community.
Peter de Young
Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia
