The Sunday Times : Up surcharge to draw cabbies to the city
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Kudos to News Analysis Columist : Mr Kelvin Wong
This guy got it absolutely spot-on !
Up City Surcharge ...... Dual effect !
1.Weeds out the marginal users who are not prepared to stump up more for fares .
2.Draws more cabbie into the city .
I say ...... he's absolutely right !
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Please refer to reports on 30/7/2006 The Sunday Times , Page 6 , News section .
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My view :
5pm to 8pm , taking taxi in City , not much problem after the raise of peak hours surcharge to $2 .
The main problem starts from 8pm , why ?
Reason : It's a straight $2.50 flag down , not extra surcharge , where got time ? I makan dinner better !
Right ?
Looked like most cabbies take dinner at 8pm , but .... but ... why did people chose to go back after peak hour ? Save $2 ?
Right ?
Then if so many many many of commuters thought the same , a sudden influx of people to the taxi stand , then the main problem arise !
Right ?
Solution : $1 city charge to apply from Mon-Sun .
Money can really makes the world go round !
Right ? -
July 30, 2006
THURSDAY NIGHT, NGEE ANN CITY TAXI STAND
Where are all the cabs?
With more taxis now, it's not a supply issue. Blame it on various factors from uneven demand to, yes, errant cabbies
By Jeremy Au Yong
ABOUT 40 people are standing in a queue at the Ngee Ann City taxi stand, staring at cabs that pass by without stopping, each flashing its red 'on call' sign.
After a few minutes, people in the line get fidgety. Some wander off to take the bus. Others try their luck by the roadside, or simply give in and call for a cab.
After 30 minutes in the queue, at least half of the original number have given up.
Those who stay - most of them tourists - end up waiting more than an hour for a ride.
This frustrating scene last Thursday evening has been replaying nightly around Orchard Road and much of the city centre for years now.
Mr Bahar Buasan, a 42-year-old Indonesian businessman on holiday with his family who waited 1 1/2 hours for a taxi because he did not know how to call for one, asked: 'Why is Singapore like this?'
That question, it seems, is on everyone's lips.
No one can blame the city for lack of effort, but no matter what it does, Singapore cannot seem to resolve its cab woes.
Over the last 10 years, the industry has been deregulated, more cabs have been added to the roads, satellite dispatch systems installed, peak hours tweaked, fares raised and checks conducted to catch errant drivers.
But still the age-old complaints persist.
'Forget about getting cabs in town at night. It would be faster to take the MRT,' said accounts manager Wendy Tan, 36.
Asked financial planner Jacob Goh, 45: 'I keep seeing empty taxis circling the roads. Where are they headed to?'
Others talk about cabbies who pick and choose customers, or those that seem to be perpetually changing shift, or hiding in back roads, only to reappear magically after the midnight surcharge kicks in.
A Sunday Times test showed that these are not idle complaints.
Last week, reporters tested waiting times at Ngee Ann City, Raffles City and Bugis Junction at around 9.30pm and found that the wait can be formidable.
At Bugis Junction, it took 20 minutes. Over at Ngee Ann City, it took one hour and two minutes.
Flagging for a cab by the road was quicker, with the fastest pick-up timed at 11 minutes.
The quickest method, of course, was to call. Two out of three showed up in less than 10 minutes.
So, to paraphrase Mr Buasan's question: Why are we waiting?
Supply is not the problem. Cab numbers have jumped from around 18,000 in 2000 to more than 22,000 today. Singapore has long had one of the highest ratios of cabs to commuters.
In 2003, even before the number of cabs ballooned, Singapore had 4.8 taxis for every 1,000 people, compared with 2.8 in Hong Kong, 2.9 in New York, 2.6 in London and 2.3 in Tokyo.
The problem - according to cabbies and transport experts - comes in many parts.
First is the uneven distribution of demand. The need for a cab far outstrips supply during peak times, but drops drastically at other times. To make matters worse, cabbies sometimes cruise the neighbourhoods after leaving town rather than drive back empty to the city, where they are most needed.
To balance demand, Associate Professor K. Raguraman, who is co-chairman of the Physical Development Feedback Group, suggests taking another look at the fare structure.
'Peak fares have already been raised, maybe we should lower off-peak fares to encourage more usage outside peak hours.
'But we would also need to extend the peak hours to counter those who might be waiting at work till peak hour ends to get a cab,' he said.
He also proposed setting up an expert focus group whose singular aim would be to study taxi policy issues.
Then there is the problem of how to tackle errant drivers.
Public Transport Council chairman Gerard Ee wants more enforcement, with commuters playing a role: 'We all have phones with cameras now. We can take a picture of those who don't play ball and report them.'
For its part, ComfortDelGro has been monitoring picky drivers, and a recent check of 7,400 cabs netted 50 who were either refusing to pick up passengers or hiding in backstreets.
To hear cabbies tell it though, they have no choice but to resort to sneaky tactics to make a living. For them, the solution is straightforward: lower rental prices.
'Certificate of entitlement prices have been going down for years, but rental still stays the same,' said cabby B.C. Goh, 69.
Fair comment, say experts.
Said Dr Paul Barter, of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy: 'There is one dominant player in the market and maybe that is the problem. Companies should be competing for drivers but the competition does not seem very fierce.'
One industry observer said competition has had some benefits for drivers.
Prior to the deregulation of the industry in 2003, drivers received $900 a year in rebates and incentives from the operators. Now they are getting $5,000.
And what of fares?
Some blame poor service on the fact that cab fares here are too low. Yet, any significant raise would have to be dealt with cautiously in case it becomes a cure that kills the patient.
In 1985, an increase in flag-down rates from $1.20 to $2 resulted in boycotts that saw cab takings drop by up to 80 per cent. Two months later, the fare was reduced to $1.60.
Indeed, a straw poll of 60 commuters by The Sunday Times last week found that half were unwilling to pay a cent more for a cab.
Additional reporting by Nur Dianah Suhaimi, Sarah Ng, Rachel Lim, Reema Jagtiani and Nur Amira Abdul Karim.
[email protected]
Copyright © 2006 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:dda35c7a12bbc010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD -
guess there will be less ppl taking cabs from now...
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Mr Bahar Buasan, a 42-year-old Indonesian businessman on holiday with his family who waited 1 1/2 hours for a taxi because he did not know how to call for one, asked: 'Why is Singapore like this?'
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THURSDAY NIGHT, NGEE ANN CITY TAXI STAND
AT 9.50 PM
IT'S A LONG, PACKED QUEUE on a weekday night and Sunday Times reporter Jeremy Au Yong (circled) gets in line at 9.50pm as them any shoppers there wait in anticipation for a cab.
-- LIM SIN THAI
AT 10.20 PM
HALF AN HOUR LATER, our reporter has advanced to the middle of the taxi line, but not many cabs have been picking up passengers. Many shoppers have gone off to take a bus or called for a cab.
-- LIM SIN THAI
AT 10.50 PM
THE SHOPS HAVE CLOSED and the shopping mall is dark, but an hour after he first started, our reporter is still waiting for a cab, together with a few other very patient shoppers.
-- LIM SIN THAI -
July 30, 2006
Up surcharge to draw cabbies to the city
By NEWS ANALYSIS, Kelvin Wong
THEY are everywhere when you do not really need them, and nowhere when you do.
I am talking about taxis, of course.
This dearth of cabs is most apparent at about 9pm or later in the downtown areas. A Sunday Times test last week, for example, found that waiting times can go up to an hour or more in such cases.
It is a situation that is particularly exasperating for the many executives who are hurrying home after a long day's work, with a quick dinner or a bit of shopping thrown in.
You could blame it on Murphy's Law, but this perennially sticky issue underscores a more fundamental problem - a mismatch in supply and demand.
Mismatch, that is, being the word to note.
Supply, on its own, is not the problem. Singapore's cab to human population ratio, at almost five taxis to every 1,000 people here, trumps even that of big cities around the world like Tokyo and London.
But the flaw in the equation relates to where this supply is going to during these after-work periods. Cabs abound in the heartland but are hard to find in the city. Some cabbies, by their own admission, say they typically pick passengers up from the city early in the night, then cruise around the housing estates after dropping them off.
Heading back downtown again without a passenger just does not make financial sense to them. But it is precisely at these times, when shopping malls shut and cinemas are done with their first evening screenings, that the crunch begins.
Other cabbies say they just want to avoid the jams in town, which result in a waste of both time and fuel. With diesel costs sky high, that is a waste cabbies can hardly afford.
This gives passengers few options, apart from choosing other modes of public transport. Calling for a cab is a way out, but not an entirely foolproof one. Besides, cab bookings essentially draw on the same limited pool already plying the area and do nothing to alleviate the shortage in the city.
Short of directing cabbies where to go, cab operators are, to all intents and purposes, just as powerless as the hapless passengers.
A surefire way of solving this is to increase fares all round, which would immediately dampen demand for cabs across the island.
But in Singapore, where taxis are - in my view - quite wrongly considered as part of the public transport system for the masses, this would be an unpalatable option.
This is unlike the situation in Tokyo and London, where passengers pay a premium for what is essentially a chauffeur-driven car. Not surprisingly, taxi woes in those places are not of the same magnitude.
A smaller demand for cabs also means drivers are not going to pick and choose and can offer a premium service that corresponds to the premium fares they earn.
The only way to break this stalemate, then, is to adopt a targeted approach in shrinking demand for cabs when and where they are most in short supply.
Put plainly, this means increasing the city area surcharge and extending the hours when it applies, to lure taxi drivers downtown.
The surcharge now stands at $1, payable between 5pm and 8pm from Mondays to Thursdays and between 5pm and 11.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
When the surcharge was raised from 50 cents to $1 in 1999, cab operators had said that the increased surcharge would encourage cabbies to drive into the city area and shorten waiting times.
Well, that has not happened.
For the bait to really work, the surcharge will have to be somewhat higher. The hours when it applies from Monday to Thursday nights should also be extended to address the after-work crowd.
The exact amount is something for the taxi operators to figure out. A survey could reveal if Singaporeans can stomach yet another rise, and if so, how much. But a useful benchmark could be the $5 levied on all trips departing from Changi Airport. It is no coincidence that getting a cab there is rarely a problem even though its location could not be more remote.
Raising the city-area surcharge would have a dual effect: It weeds out the marginal users who are not prepared to stump up more for fares and draws more cabbies into the area.
This should bring about some kind of equilibrium between taxi supply and demand in the city.
And hopefully, as some Singaporeans get accustomed to paying more for taxis, it will pave the way for higher fares to be implemented across the board.
For sure, a fare hike of any kind is never a popular move. Cab companies themselves baulk at the idea. But for any real change to happen, it is a route worth taking.
Raising the city-area surcharge would have a dual effect: It weeds out the marginal users who are not prepared to stump up more for fares and draws more cabbies into the area.
Copyright © 2006 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. -
well. one of the promises for the recent fare increase was IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE. so u now suggest an additional surcharge for the "service" where the cabbies would come down to the town area ?
this is crap man. -
what do you mean by "marginal users" ?
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People who spend less than $8 in a single trip?Originally posted by the Bear:what do you mean by "marginal users" ?
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if that is so, what is the point of taxi rides?
if drivers want to pick and choose, i think they all are deserving of their disreputationOriginally posted by shade343:People who spend less than $8 in a single trip? -
location/taxi stand/by the road/call booking
ngee ann city/62mins/15mins/6mins
bugis junction/20mins/11mins/3mins
raffles city/40mins/30mins/20mins (15mins on hold) -
Question for Poolman:
Last nite 1030pm, tanjong pagar ( Duxton Road ), I board a NTUC cab. Saw the meter shows starting fare and also S$1 surcharge. Sat nite 1030pm got surcharge meh? -
fares are expensive enuff now, no need another rise... next time take cab is only meant for rich people who cannot drive...
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Think Mr Wong is refering to those who willing to fork out $4 , but not $5 type of commuters .Originally posted by the Bear:what do you mean by "marginal users" ? -
With an extra $1 city surcharge , i'm sure you can get a cab faster .Originally posted by saline:well. one of the promises for the recent fare increase was IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE. so u now suggest an additional surcharge for the "service" where the cabbies would come down to the town area ?
this is crap man.
Mr Wong certainly know the logic of the problem .
Being a cabby , my motivation to rush back to town is the "call" , if not for the "call" , i rush down for what ?
For those cabbies who doesn't take "call" , they need not rush to town , why rush to town when outside town also $2.50 flag down ?
If rush down for an incentive , it's different story ! -
Then the problem will be slove , less people taking , means more people who willing to pay will get a cab easier .Originally posted by BrUtUs:guess there will be less ppl taking cabs from now...
But City Surcharge haven't implement , this Mr Wong just suggesting . -
Friday and Saturday City surcharge stretch up to 11.29pm , from 5pm .Originally posted by Manager433:Question for Poolman:
Last nite 1030pm, tanjong pagar ( Duxton Road ), I board a NTUC cab. Saw the meter shows starting fare and also S$1 surcharge. Sat nite 1030pm got surcharge meh? -
this confirm will backfire.
good luck to those who worship this suggestion
i can see a big drop in cab-takers after the recent adjustments
commuters are waking up
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Garmen making Singaporean looked really Singaporean liao .Originally posted by BrUtUs:fares are expensive enuff now, no need another rise... next time take cab is only meant for rich people who cannot drive...
Singaporean are crying with those high cost of living , and now it's quite irony , taxi not enough ? -
Tell that to this people ....Originally posted by FireIce:this confirm will backfire.
good luck to those who worship this suggestion
i can see a big drop in cab-takers after the recent adjustments
commuters are waking up
[b]location/taxi stand/by the road/call booking
ngee ann city-62mins-15mins-6mins
bugis junction/20mins/11mins/3mins
raffles city/40mins/30mins/20mins (15mins on hold)
Taka wait 1 hour for a cab ?
Robinson wait 40 minutes ?
It's sounds crazy ..... but it's just true !
Thank God the fare hike increase my salary to avarage monthly $600 increase estimately , bingo !
Nothing la , one day $20 extra nia .....
I'm going into CDI 220 Soveriegn ! Yeah !!! I am so confident about taxi business nowadays !
But i have to agree 5- 8pm the demand drops , many of my colleage complaint , i slightly affected , but overall , most earned more !
A test for Singaporean .... see how long they can tahan boycotting taxi . -
so... you think that will make the taxicab drivers go to town?
what makes you think that? you aside...
frankly, i look at the taxi drivers as being penny-wise pound-foolish here...
you make 3 short trips, you get about $15
you make one long trip, you get about $12
the time it takes to make that one long trip is probably more than that 3 short trips...
btw, that flag-down amount is not for nothing..
it will backfire, making people even more pissed off with the cabbies.. they'll revert to taking the buses and trains.. and in the end, the disposable income of the cabbie decreases...
already, in the example given in the papers, the people got fed up and went to take the buses and trains.. that's a hell of a lot of people you pissed off, and a hell of a lot of money you've thrown away...
sometimes, to make money, its counter-intuitive...Originally posted by Poolman:Think Mr Wong is refering to those who willing to fork out $4 , but not $5 type of commuters . -
i sense something here which is ugly..
this is only possible with a monopoly or a cartel at work...
and in singapore, "public transport" isn't...
poolman, you're a cabbie... you are looking after your ricebowl..
but with THIS sentence... lies the crux of why cartels and monopolies gouge people...
btw, i think the PTC just prostituted the whole public transport system...Originally posted by Poolman:A test for Singaporean .... see how long they can tahan boycotting taxi . -
Bear , how do we know if the next customer is a short distance or long distaance , as you've said ? Cos we can't choose at all .
How you tell ? Customers don't hang a board on their forehead , saying they are long or short distance .
We ask customer : " hey , where u wanna go ? "
Sala ( wrong ! ) , sure kana complaint !
If i from Yishun go all the way down to town area , then pick short distance is okay , if another Yishun ...... $14 ? One hour job , hopeless la !
That the normal phobia among cabbies .
Why should one cabby pick those customers from Taka when Newton Circus or Tekka , or even ICS Building already got customers ?