'Hey...want to take cab? No surcharge for peak hour"
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AsiaOne : 'Hey...want to take cab? No surcharge for peak hours'
Any comments !!!
http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20080106-43801.html
AS MR A.L. Tan's cab comes into sight, an A4-size handwritten sign on his dashboard is what a potential passenger will see first.
'Not 35% surcharge peak hour', it says.
He has resorted to waiving the surcharge after last month's cab fare hike.
'I used to make up to $130 during peak hours,' said the cabby of 15 years in Mandarin. 'Then the customers were scared off and I couldn't even make $10!'
Cabbies complain that passengers are disappearing during morning and evening rush hours. What used to be a $2 flat surcharge for travelling between 7am and 9.30am, or 5pm and 8pm, is now calculated as 35 per cent of the metered fare.
A passenger travelling from Ang Mo Kio MRT station to Choa Chu Kang's Lot 1 Shopping Centre pays about $14 outside peak periods. Slap on the surcharge during peak hours and the fare is now $19.
Although cab companies are optimistic that the recent fare changes will raise drivers' incomes, cabbies themselves are not so sanguine.
Most of the 20 cabbies The Sunday Times spoke to say that passengers are more receptive to the 30-cent higher flag-down fare, but baulk at paying the peak-hour surcharge.
Of the 10 passengers The Sunday Times spoke to, seven said they now avoid taking cabs whenever possible, especially during peak hours. The others said that they still take a cab at least once a day.
Property agent A.C. Yeo, 54, said she now takes the train to work instead. A cab ride from her Bishan flat to her office in Toa Payoh used to cost her $6.50 during peak hours. Now, it has gone up to about $8.
To encourage more passengers to catch taxis during peak hours, some cabbies such as Transcab's Mr Tan have come up with their own strategies.
Comfort cabby B.P. Pang, 52, is giving out discounts together with his business card in the hope of increasing his passenger base.
For a $27.40 trip from Tampines to Cecil Street, including peak-hour and Electronic Road Pricing surcharges, Mr Pang charges his passenger $21, giving him a 23 per cent discount.
He usually gives discounts only to customers whose fares exceed $20, in the hope that they will call for his cab in future.
'I used to get at least six customers during peak hours, now I don't even get two,' said the cabby of three years in Mandarin.
Comfort cabby Jack Ng, 47, admits to touting at bus stops for potential passengers. Down goes his windscreen as he drives by and yells out: 'Taxi, taxi, no surcharge.'
He said in Mandarin: 'Many people have turned to buses and trains since the fare hike. So I try my luck at bus stops and tempt them with my cheaper fare, without the surcharge.'
Even with his new tactic, Mr Ng says he takes home about $80 a day, a 30 per cent dip from before. But he is optimistic that business will pick up as more customers are asking for his phone number and calling him when they need rides.
Sales manager Maria Woo, 35, for example, has become Mr Ng's regular passenger, ringing him for a ride during peak hours. She takes a cab at least five times a day for business meetings.
'He doesn't charge me the 35 per cent and the on-call charges, saving me up to $65 a week!' she said.
Asked if it was legitimate for cabbies to offer customers discounts, a spokesman for Comfort, Singapore's largest taxi operator, said that cabbies are essentially their own businessmen.
She added: 'It is their prerogative to give discounts to their customers should they so desire.'
While some cabbies are fighting the passenger drought, others are using the lax period to take longer breaks at coffee shops.
SMRT cabby S.K. Tang, 50, said: 'Driving around looking for passengers is just costing me more diesel.'
Comfort cabby D. Ghing, 60, said cabbies are now trying to 'out-drive' each other for passengers.
'Customers are like Hollywood stars now - one passenger flags, four cabs will zoom in,' said the cabby of 25 years. 'It's a dog-eat-dog world here.'
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Really? My friend just told me how pissed she is when she was waiting for a cab and when she flagged him down he said
“Miss, you must be waiting very long if you pay me the On Call surcharge I will fetch you”
Of course my friend said no and the uncle flipped his finger at her and rolled up his window
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i had 2 cabs charging at me once (outside my house)
one who is in front on the outer lane
one who is behind on the inner lane
eventually, the outer lane guy got to me first
but when i was in orchard road after wedding dinner, i see empty cabs zooming past, as if im invisible
taxi stands long Qs
i tried to call but was put on hold for more than 10 mins and still cant get a cabso far haben met one who waive surcharge leh.
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Originally posted by FireIce:
i had 2 cabs charging at me once (outside my house)
one who is in front on the outer lane
one who is behind on the inner lane
eventually, the outer lane guy got to me first
but when i was in orchard road after wedding dinner, i see empty cabs zooming past, as if im invisible
taxi stands long Qs
i tried to call but was put on hold for more than 10 mins and still cant get a cabso far haben met one who waive surcharge leh.
orchard road is kinda special...Got something to do with surchange, I remember unker poolie got explain b4...
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at first i was like so...then i saw: Sun, Jan 06, 2008 The Sunday Times alamak. back when mata wear shorts la..now is already middle coming to 2nd half 2011 deh :) :)
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Originally posted by michaelhuat:
at first i was like so…then i saw:
Sun, Jan 06, 2008
The Sunday Timesalamak. back when mata wear shorts la..now is already middle coming to 2nd half 2011 deh
oh... Super old news...why TS post 3 years ago news???
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
oh... Super old news...why TS post 3 years ago news???
maybe TS still dreaming when meter is $1.20 hahaha...just woke up only: 1 post since May '11 -
Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
orchard road is kinda special...Got something to do with surchange, I remember unker poolie got explain b4...
doesn't help even if im at hotel lobby?
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Originally posted by FireIce:
doesn't help even if im at hotel lobby?
wha! hotel lobby means no need surcharge? cant afford or .. :( -
means cabs oso dun want to pick ppl from hotel lobby
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A cab driver once told me her many of her counterparts very keng. They will wait for the peak hours to earn surcharge. Other than that some will limkopi at kopitiams.
Hee heee heee, this is good service. heheheh.
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Hey, handsome.....short time.....$35
lol
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You street smart, we drive smart...
You want to save $3? Uncle want to earn $3 more...
You come out just after peak hr? We go toilet break just before peak hr...
You walk outside CBD boundary? We can't stop just outside CBD boundary, too heavy traffic la...
You 'no show' or 'cancel call'? we wait for next call lor...
25,000 taxis on the road, you surely can get 1. I have more than 25,000 pax on the road or make calls, surely I can take one after my toilet break!
No Prob...
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take toilet break so boring, why not go geylang eat chicken
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Originally posted by shanfan:
take toilet break so boring, why not go geylang eat chicken
Which chicken in Geylang nice to eat? recommend?
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I only know one.. the one near Lor 17, 933 golden pillow chicken bun. dun knw still there or not...
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good chicken rice... golden mile steam boat... old tamp favourite... got air con... eat liao can play billard... haha
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
orchard road is kinda special...Got something to do with surchange, I remember unker poolie got explain b4...
eg if u are at Hilton Hotel .... for the cabby , i just drive straight into Lucky Plaza , i got that $3 City CBD surcharge .Hilton ? $0 surcharge .
Now u know why Fireice cabbies treated her transparent ?
Yup that $3 trick .
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As for Fireice call Comfort hotline for a cab .
Very hard , why ?
Booking fee $3.50
Comfort levy $0.50
Levy's GST $0.07
Cabbies' nett income $2.93 .
Some Comfort cabbies prefer go Lucky Plaza picked that nett $3 paxes .
If i were Fireice , i will call Silver .
Why ?
Silver now got $0.50 fuel surcharge , plus $3.50 booking fee , they very hungry for bookings . Any bookings will do .
Silver cab do not need to pay Call Levy , what they get from paxes , is 100% profit , unlike that phui taxi company .
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It is a good post ....
A reminder to Singaporeans , we cabbies actually do not favour too much that 35% peak hour surcharge .
Some are with it , many do not agree on it .
A bit out-of-date , but refresh a bit .
Main reason why was it been implemented ? I dunno .
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no surcharge below meter very hard to press meter leh..... :P
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if 35% we slightly busy , that time we peak hour ony $2 ..... no time to urine ( everyday except Sunday) .
In fact $2 time , i earned more , cos more connections .
Esp in HDB area . Still got bones left , now bones also dun have .
Well earn slightly more only .... maybe $10 or abit more .
Now more vacant time on the road , if got trip , more short distance .
Now strategies also different .
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Originally posted by Poolman:
if 35% we slightly busy , that time we peak hour ony $2 ..... no time to urine ( everyday except Sunday) .
In fact $2 time , i earned more , cos more connections .
Esp in HDB area . Still got bones left , now bones also dun have .
Well earn slightly more only .... maybe $10 or abit more .
Now more vacant time on the road , if got trip , more short distance .
Now strategies also different .
knn still huat rite..... :P -
Agreed. Sch holiday adults macham no need to go work. Morning 0645 to 0730 no 'ping ping'. clean sweep street pax. OBK!
Somemore kerna my MDT just reformat by that stupid people... cannot wake up like. So difficult to recv calls.
Lucky god is great, send the rain come... 'ping!', lai liow... press '3 mins'...
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Please lah!
This news was report in , Jan 06, 2008, so long liao.
You think he is still doing that!