taxi fare increase on 23 Dec 2007>
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Channel NewsAsia - Friday, December 14
SMRT to raise taxi fares from Dec 21
SINGAPORE : Singapore’s second—largest taxi operator SMRT will be raising its fares from next Friday, December 21.
The changes are in line with the adjustments made by market leader ComfortDelGro which will be increasing fares from December 17.
Flag—down rates for standard SMRT cabs will cost 30 cents more while meter rates will also go up.
Flag—down rates for Limousine cabs will go up by 40 cents to S$3.20.
City area, peak hour and late night surcharges have also been adjusted.
Peak hour booking fees will drop from S$4 to S$3.50.
SMRT says the changes are to help its drivers cope with higher operating costs.
SMRT has a fleet of 3,000 cabs, including Space MPVs, Prestige and London Cabs. — CNA/ch -
Originally posted by SMRT Buses:
i said that in the other fare increase thread
Reuters - Friday, December 14
[b]Singapore SMRT joins ComfortDelGro in taxi fare hike
SINGAPORE, Dec 14 - Singapore's second-largest taxi operator SMRT said in a statement on Friday that it will raise taxi fares from Dec 21, four days after leading rival ComfortDelGro announced it would do the same.
SMRT, which has 3,000 taxis to ComfortDelGro's fleet of 15,000, said the hikes are to mitigate higher operating costs due to rising fuel prices.
It said the changes include raising minimum starting fares to S$2.80 and the tripling of a surcharge to S$3 for taxis entering Singapore's downtown area after 5:00 p.m., in line with the hikes made by ComfortDelGro.
Inflation in Singapore hit a 16-year high in October and the government has forecast it could reach 5 percent in the first quarter next year.
Taxi firms have been hurt by high oil prices , which traded above $92 a barrel on Friday after a record near $100 last month.[/b] -
I would beg to differ. Citing the price hike as a way of a bonus scheme for cabbies would not be a fair illustration. The nature of cabbies is to have an "unlimited" upside to their income ( of course not forgetting downside) thus comparing wage schemes would be inappropriate.Originally posted by Poolman:No , when the civil servants earn bonuses , and almost all employees earned bonuses , my job is to take a bite from their bonuses , not joining them .
Don't u see the timing of the hike ?
The timing is meant for us to have a bite , or we'll regret it .
When u are a cabby , and u see the amount of money people spent in Orchard Road shopping , bags after bags , branded stuff after branded stuff , u'll be stupid not to earn them extra $4 for bookings .
If u see the cash sales machines rolling non-stop , taxi fare is nothing !!!
Next up, people spending on branded stuff does not make it an excuse for the taxi companies to raise their price. So if your point was that people would not feel the pinch if they could afford branded stuff, that is another fallacy.
So could mac donalds use that as a reason to rise prices.
So to the main argument that the rise of cost particularly oil prices is the leading factor to this hike. What I feel is that oil price up leads to higher cost..
Ok fair enough to rise price. But is this the real reason? Did the companies, cabbies, campaign for a lower taxi fare when oil prices were lower or for this instance would they ask for a lower taxi fare when oil prices were to revert to the old prices. That Im quite sure is a big NO.
I'm not whining here because I feel the hike is unfair for commuters ( although I presonally think that's the case) but rather at the manner it was raised.
The hike is simply exorbitant and for someone like me, an incomeless student, I would only be taking less taxis; definitely only when it's absolutely necessary. But I do feel for those who does not have a choice. A few dollars extra per trip can easily add up to over a hundred dollars INCREASE.
But this is a situation which cannot be helped. What can we possibly do?
Just less taxis I suppose. -
That's my personal view .... What i saw at Orchard , and from a personal view that i should be getting extra money from the shoppers if they can spent $4000 on branded stuff , then $4 booking fee is nothing for them .Originally posted by Twice A Day:Next up, people spending on branded stuff does not make it an excuse for the taxi companies to raise their price. So if your point was that people would not feel the pinch if they could afford branded stuff, that is another fallacy.
So could mac donalds use that as a reason to rise prices.
This has nothing to do with Comfort raising the price . -
har... incomeless sutdent feel unfair that he cannot afford taxi after price hike... me also feel unfair why bungalow and BMW cannot be $1... wow lan, i earn how much, i eat how much... if some things i like are too expensive to me, then i don't eat or eat less lah..... rocket science meh? -
#*&%*$% singapore everything is increaseing by 15%... i wonder why our pay is not increasing 15% also....Originally posted by Poolman:Why increase ?
GST increase ....
Milk powder increase ...
Rice increase ...
Flour increase ...
Air Flown pork increase ....
Fish increase ....
Hawker prices increase ...
PUB tariff increase ....
U felt the pain of price increase , cabbies also Singaporean , why ? They not pain ?
And ..... i missed out on diesel increase . -
You didn't get my point. I said I'm precisely going to take less cabs. And pulling bmw and bungalows at $1 in is not really making any sense.Originally posted by ALN:har... incomeless sutdent feel unfair that he cannot afford taxi after price hike... me also feel unfair why bungalow and BMW cannot be $1... wow lan, i earn how much, i eat how much... if some things i like are too expensive to me, then i don't eat or eat less lah..... rocket science meh?
My point is that I don't see any crucial reason for them to rise the price at this time and that cabs unlike mac donalds are "goods that we might be forced to buy" Therefore consumers some time do not have an option to show their dis pleasure at the hike.
And just a side issue. I do not think that cabbies are underpaid as compared to other service occupations. Might not have a fixed income but the incentive to work extra hours sure is high. Afew trips down some night spots would have covered the rental easily. Correct me if i'm wrong as I'm not a cabbie.
And I certaintly believe that comfort and friends are already making a huge tidy profit. So why the hike at this hike? -
U should try driving a cab for just 3 hours .Originally posted by Twice A Day:You didn't get my point. I said I'm precisely going to take less cabs. And pulling bmw and bungalows at $1 in is not really making any sense.
My point is that I don't see any crucial reason for them to rise the price at this time and that cabs unlike mac donalds are "goods that we might be forced to buy" Therefore consumers some time do not have an option to show their dis pleasure at the hike.
And just a side issue. I do not think that cabbies are underpaid as compared to other service occupations. Might not have a fixed income but the incentive to work extra hours sure is high. Afew trips down some night spots would have covered the rental easily. Correct me if i'm wrong as I'm not a cabbie.
And I certaintly believe that comfort and friends are already making a huge tidy profit. So why the hike at this hike?
Talk not use , fundamental u are right , down to night spot .
U haven't kana Q 30 minutes at Zouk and that fella tell u go Havelock Road Ah Hua Bak Ku Teh ... meter don't even jump .
U also haven't kana Q at boat Quay , they hop in tell u " Clarke Quay " .
Talk always very easy ....
Plenty of imagination ... every trip from Jurong go Simei ?? Vice versa ? -
Originally posted by FireIce:>shows 2 middle fingers<
give us some good service FIRST before toking about hikes.
>shows 4 middle fingers< -
Depends on what u mean by underpaid... cabbies confirm no CPF or bonus or 13mth. Other staff get at least 13mth, touch wood but taxi may have to fork out one month to pay for repair... one knock only may set you back by up to $2K...Originally posted by Twice A Day:You didn't get my point. I said I'm precisely going to take less cabs. And pulling bmw and bungalows at $1 in is not really making any sense.
My point is that I don't see any crucial reason for them to rise the price at this time and that cabs unlike mac donalds are "goods that we might be forced to buy" Therefore consumers some time do not have an option to show their dis pleasure at the hike.
And just a side issue. I do not think that cabbies are underpaid as compared to other service occupations. Might not have a fixed income but the incentive to work extra hours sure is high. Afew trips down some night spots would have covered the rental easily. Correct me if i'm wrong as I'm not a cabbie.
And I certaintly believe that comfort and friends are already making a huge tidy profit. So why the hike at this hike?
working hours...if you drive less than 8 hours a day like other line, you are earning more for comfort...
anyway you are most welcome to join the trade if you really think it is lucrative...i lost weight since driving just 2 days per week for few months....
don't say liao... -
Those who never drove before , will never understand the pain taxi cabby go thru , I used to think taxi driver quite easy job and money until I drove one.....i can only say its one of the worst job !
I board a few cab the last few day all the driver do not want price increase but rental deduction.
those comfort guy sitting in the office have it easy they just increase the fare without any care in the world as their will not be any impact to their bottom line they crap excuse was to help the cabby which is utter nonsense , if they are really sincere they should drop the rental ,
for everyone info , comfort only take more than a year rental to fully cover the cost of their new sonata taxi ... Yes! just slightly more than a year !! you do your math you will know how much blood the taxi company suck from the cabby and us commuter !!!
At this juncture I just want to ask what is our garment doing ????? -
I am not totaly against the hike in prices. however the timing is not right. Everything seems to be increase its prices and everyone is feeling it.. except a small amount.... Can't they just wait like 6mths or so. Eventually everyone's pay will be adjusted then it would be a better time.
i think cabbies shld form some kind of organisation to contest the decision. have a better say over decisions sure as those. -
What is the garment doing? Up to now, they still cant decide who should set the fare. Fare setting was shifted from LTA to PTC and then passed to taxi companies. As I said earlier, this is like nokia setting your M1 phone bill rate! Wonder what would comfort say if one day toyota set comfort rental rate...Originally posted by seancannot:Those who never drove before , will never understand the pain taxi cabby go thru , I used to think taxi driver quite easy job and money until I drove one.....i can only say its one of the worst job !
I board a few cab the last few day all the driver do not want price increase but rental deduction.
those comfort guy sitting in the office have it easy they just increase the fare without any care in the world as their will not be any impact to their bottom line they crap excuse was to help the cabby which is utter nonsense , if they are really sincere they should drop the rental ,
for everyone info , comfort only take more than a year rental to fully cover the cost of their new sonata taxi ... Yes! just slightly more than a year !! you do your math you will know how much blood the taxi company suck from the cabby and us commuter !!!
At this juncture I just want to ask what is our garment doing ?????
But then I think it is fair for taxi companies to set their own rental, but they certainly cannot control set the fare as well. Like that, taxi drivers slog and commuters suffer.
Think about this suggestion.... PTC set the fare... city surcharge $5, call booking $1 .... taxi demand may drop a bit, taxi will not wait for call, comfort dominance drop (much less booking), taxi drivers shift away from comfort, comfort reduce rental, drivers and commuters happy... -
Channel NewsAsia - Thursday, January 3
ComfortDelgro taxi drivers claim loss of earnings due to 35% surcharge
SINGAPORE : At least 20 ComfortDelGro taxi drivers have said they want a return to the S$2 surcharge, instead of the new 35 percent peak hour surcharge on the metered fare.
One taxi driver even said his earnings have dropped by an average of S$50 per shift to about S$150 now — because of fewer customers.
However, others are waiting to see the full effects of the new surcharge.
Mr Azman Mohamed, who has been driving a taxi for less than a year, said there is a perception problem with the new fare structure.
Many commuters think peak hours have been changed and the 35 percent surcharge also applies on Sundays and public holidays. This is not so.
He said four out of five believe the new surcharge also applies to the whole fare, including ERP and booking fees. In reality, it applies only to the metered fare.
Mr Azman said it now takes about 30 minutes to pick up a passenger during peak periods — compared to five or 10 minutes previously.
The perceived higher cost of taking a taxi is hitting taxi driversÂ’ earnings.
Mr Azman said, "Most of them feel that the 35 percent (surcharge) is not helping them. They are losing money and putting back the S$2 will help them. And that is also an incentive encouraging them to drive during the peak hours."
He hopes his earnings will improve when more people go back to work next week.
Comfort taxi drivers who still have the old fare chart are being given copies of the new fare chart, while new ones are being published.
The Corporate Communications Department of ComfortDelGro said it has not received any concerns about the 35 percent peak period surcharge on the metered fare from commuters or taxi drivers.
Singapore’s second—largest operator, SMRT, said it has also not received any feedback on commuters confused about the new 35 percent surcharge.
However, some of its drivers have reported passengers saying it is too expensive to take a taxi.
TransCab said its drivers are experiencing a lack of passengers, but believes the problem is only temporary.
The Taxi Operators’ Association, which represents the six operators here, said it has not received any feedback of the new surcharge driving customers away. — CNA/ms -
Channel NewsAsia - 2 hours 8 minutes ago
SMRT Taxi Operators Association waiting for membersÂ’ feedback on cab fare hikes
SINGAPORE: The SMRT Taxi Operators Association says it is waiting for feedback from its members first before deciding if and when to bring up the issue of the recent fare hikes within the association.
Some taxi drivers and most commuters have been unhappy with the higher cab fares, which were introduced last month.
Abdul Halid Zumat has been driving a taxi for three years.
He used to earn around $200 in each shift, but that has dropped by about $50, as he has fewer passengers since taxi fares were raised in December.
So Mr Abdul Halid has come up with an idea, which he believes will benefit both commuters and cab drivers.
His suggestion — change the flag—down rate.
"From $2.50, make it $3.50 — one—dollar (increase) and the rest, status quo. Don’t have the 35%. This 35%, the public doesn’t know, really. They thought that the increase hits their pocket," said Mr Abdul Halid, referring to the 35% of the metered fare levied for peak hour travel.
Like Mr Abdul Halid, some taxi drivers would like a meeting with the Taxi OperatorsÂ’ Association (TOA), which represents the six taxi operators in Singapore.
The main agenda — to assess if the current fare structure is the best for the drivers.
Meanwhile, SMART Cab OperatorsÂ’ Association says it has not received any feedback on the call for a return to the old $2 peak period surcharge.
Its president, Chia Hock Peng, said that if it does get such a feedback, the association will forward it to its executive secretary Chan Meng Dong and Seng Han Tong, its adviser and MP for Yio Chu Kang.
As for SingaporeÂ’s largest taxi operator, ComfortDelGro, it has not revealed if it too is planning to meet its own Comfort Taxi OperatorsÂ’ Association about the recent rise in taxi fares.
The TOA says in an email that it is still monitoring the situation, adding that it wants to give the new fare hikes some time before reaching any conclusions. — CNA/ir -
I was at Tiong Bahru MRT going to Tanjong Pagar this morning when an old lady, probably at her late 70s (from her all-white hair and thin build), approached me and asked me in Hokkien which train to take to go to Bugis. She showed me a doctor name card and told me she needed to go to Raffle Hospital for medical attention, but did not have any idea how to.
I showed her the way to the train as I was heading there (Tanjong Pagar) too. As usual, the train was crowded. We managed to squeeze out a standing space right beside the train's door. As the train accelerated (and de-accelerated, or sudden break), the old lady had to press on the train's door to stabilise her body. On a few occasion she almost fell down.
Another standing passenger politely cleared out a standing space near the holder for the old lady. The passenger asked where shes heading and why was she alone. The old lady said that she lived alone and going to Raffles Hopsital. She continued to say that she used to take cab from Tiong Bahru but due to the rising taxi fare (and other living expense), she had to take MRT instead.
When I reached Tanjong Pagar, the old lady asked me again had we reached Bugis. I told her Bugis was a few station away but I had to leave her as I was rushing for work...
My feel is that as we progress towards a better nation, some minor group of people (esp old folks) are left behind. Most of them are retiree with no income and rely on their CPF for living. With rising living expense, this minority group will find it harder to coup... -
last time from work back home during peak hr only ard $10
Noqw almost $14 le.
it's only a 15 minutes ride at most w/o ERP (but heavy traffic)
A good motivation to go home on time at 6pm and take company bus back! -
Drivers' earnings up, cab waiting times down: Raymond Lim
By Jermyn Chow
THE recent taxi fare hike may have just put a lid on a cab crunch which was threatening to boil over.
If preliminary findings are anything to go by, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said the fare revision last month was 'effective' in meeting the increasing demand of taxis in the Central Business District (CBD).
Based on figures taken four weeks after the Dec 18 fare hike, Mr Lim said waiting times in the city area during peak hours have 'gone down substantially'.
Mr Lim revealed that commuters in the city only have to wait for up to 6 minutes for a cab, significantly less than the 5 to 22 minutes before the fare hike.
Waiting times at the Suntec City taxi stands - said to be the worst performing of the lot - have been cut drastically from 22 minutes to 4 minutes.
While some cabbies have complained that passengers are not flagging taxis, Mr Lim said their earnings have however gone up.
Based on figures provided by ComfortDelGro, Singapore's biggest taxi operator, cabbies are pocketing about $11 more a day, earning about $318.
Mr Lim was responding to questions from MP for Tampines GRC Ms Irene Ng and MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC Mr Baey Yam Keng in Parliament.
Mr Lim also allayed Ms Ng's fears, saying that the extra surcharges for cabs plying the city areas would not pinch the supply in the suburbs.
The Transport Minister assured the House that the Land Transport Authority would continue to monitor the situation over the next 3 to 4 months and work with taxi operators and associations.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_198867.html
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After comfort made the statement that the cab driver earning increase from 307$ to 318$, many cab drivers call up the newspaper and claim that they didn't earn $300+ daily, unless they driver 24/7.
So the paper did an interview and found out that the most hardworking driver who drives more than 12 hours can at most make 200$ only. Among the cab drivers interviewed, 50% said their earning decrease after the hike. Another 30% said their earning still the same. Only 20% increase.
The earning decrease is because lesser customers, and the rising cost of the fuel.
They contacted Comfort to learn how they get the 300$ figure. Comfort said they polled 5000 cabs' meters...and found out that their earning increase after including the morning/night shift.
They also said the figure doesn't represent all of the cab drivers. In other words, I think they trying to say that those cab drivers making noises now are the minority among the cab drivers who ain't in the 5000 cabs they polled. -
Can't blame Raymond Lim ....Originally posted by ^tamago^:After comfort made the statement that the cab driver earning increase from 307$ to 318$, many cab drivers call up the newspaper and claim that they didn't earn $300+ daily, unless they driver 24/7.
So the paper did an interview and found out that the most hardworking driver who drives more than 12 hours can at most make 200$ only. Among the cab drivers interviewed, 50% said their earning decrease after the hike. Another 30% said their earning still the same. Only 20% increase.
The earning decrease is because lesser customers, and the rising cost of the fuel.
They contacted Comfort to learn how they get the 300$ figure. Comfort said they polled 5000 cabs' meters...and found out that their earning increase after including the morning/night shift.
They also said the figure doesn't represent all of the cab drivers. In other words, I think they trying to say that those cab drivers making noises now are the minority among the cab drivers who ain't in the 5000 cabs they polled.
He only received datas base on what Comfort provided him .
It's a f-cking conspiracy , despicable of Comfort to do that .
Come to think of it , datas no wrong , but logically , for whole shifts , $318 is very little . Where got logic ??
If they take my datas of my relief and me , it's far beyond $318 , honestly come near to $450 . Eg , he did $230 , i did $220 .
If $318 , there's worms inside the tin .
Someone just has to open the tin . -
But i do believe , these datas is obviously refering to an average of 5000 OMO drivers , OMO driver this figure , yes very clear-cut .
As in they drove from 6am , to 8 pm . $318 is fair .
Not for half a shift . Defintely NO !!! -
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i agree with the indian driver
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why don't raymond lim go and drvie taxis?
data obtain by him himself should be the most accurate...
agree? -
what about?Originally posted by Poolman:
I dun think he is bluffing.