Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Taxi fares in Singapore

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Taxi fares in Singapore

Fares and surcharges
Applicable to CityCab, Comfort, Yellow-Top Cab, SMRT Taxis. Different fares apply to other operators

Flagdown fare: S$2.80 (≤ 1 km)
Meter fare
S$0.20 (every 385 m thereafter or less > 1 km and ≤ 10 km)
S$0.20 (every 330 m thereafter or less > 10 km)
Waiting: S$0.20 (every 45 seconds or less)
Booking
S$3.50 (0730 - 0930 and 1700 - 2300 hours Monday - Friday)
S$2.50 (all other times including public holidays)
S$5.20 (advance)
Peak hours
35% of metered fare (0700 - 0930 and 1700 - 2000)
Late night
50% of meter fare (0000 - 0559 hours)

Public holidays
S$1.00 (1800 hours eve to 2400 hours of New Year's Day, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, Christmas Day, first and second day of Chinese New Year.
Should public holiday fall on a Sunday, the surchage will be imposed till 2400 hrs on Monday)
CBD
S$3.00 (1700 - 0000 hours, Monday - Saturday, except public holidays)
Locations
S$5.00 (Singapore Changi Airport: Friday - Sunday from 1700 to 0000 hours)
S$3.00 (Singapore Changi Airport: all other times)
S$3.00 (Seletar Airport)
S$2.00 (Singapore Expo)

Higher flag-down rates for certain models.

All Electronic Road Pricing charges incurred on the trip are to be borne by the customer. An additional 10% administrative charge on the total fare is also incurred when payment is made on credit or charge cards. Higher fares apply for premium taxi services that employ premium vehicles, such as CityCab's Presido and MaxiCab, Yellow-Top Cab's Sovereign limousines, SMRT's Prestige and London Taxi and Airport Transfer service, and so on.

Observation: Singapore must win the award for the most complicated taxi fare structure in the world.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...: Definitely it is a very complicated system for a world class city like us. Perhaps being world class is being complicated?

Wait.. Are we world class in the first place? or are we world-class-to-be? Haha..; December 26, 2007 11:52 AM
Anonymous said...: Hi Mr.Tan,

From the new taxis'charges chart,it seem that taking a cab in Singapore will eventually become a luxury.What happen to the under-previlege who will need them one day?

Mr.Tan,
would like to ask you,each time when a taxi problem arises,the main operator will use carrots(price hike) to address them.Do you think this is out of greed or do they really out to solve them??It seem that at the rate they increases the prices....there is no end to the real problems,then who you think will be in the best position to address them,LTA,MOT OR Comfort and others?

PS: (From 2005 to 2007,there are altogether 3 times fare hikes in place..and I quess in 2008 will be another one.)

Thanks very much..

'office worker'; December 26, 2007 2:24 PM
Anonymous said...: Yes, Singapore must win the award for the most complicated yet unsatisfactory result. A trip from Ang Mo Kio to Yishun which used to cost below eight dollars now costs me 13.70. I noticed the peak hour surcharge is now dynamic. It costs 3.70 for the short trip back instead of the usual 2 dollars although the startup charge is 1 dollar. I will try my best not to take cabs anymore.
Why can't the learned ministers just do away with all the surcharges and up the basic fare. This will eliminate the resentment between cab drivers and passengers in a society like Singapore.
I have also travelled in Taiwan and Hong Kong and the ride is more enjoyable as it is less complicated and we can just concentrate on the destination.
Wake Up, LTA and the transport ministry!!!
The NTUC brand name is going down. NTUC cabs lead the charge for raising fares. NTUC insurance service sucks with arrogant management. NTUC Fairprice prices are also going up. What is happening in Singapore?; December 26, 2007 5:01 PM
Anonymous said...: The meters are programmed by the respective taxi companies. While manual calculations may appear complex to Mr. Tan, with the meter, computation time is much reduced. The metering device is also checked daily to prevent tampering.

I think the system is more detailed because of competition among the different operators. This encourages transparency and will minimize mis-intepretation.

Singapore opened up the market for different operators to exist. Isn't this what the people wanted in the first place? 10 years ago, there were only Comfort, TIBS and yellow tops and people complained not enough competition.

After a while, like inflation and gst, the effect of the pricing will wear off, once we get used to it.

after all, cab drivers have to make a living, support their children to university (local or overseas) and make ends meet, own their own property, just like everyone else.

I hope this platform will not discriminate the hardworking taxi drivers. They have a right to earn a living.

So don't complain so much and compare with others countries. Just let supply and demand will determine the price.

Our public transport council has listened and decided the implementation of the prices that should be fair to all and I suggest that we all follow and move on. Our society must learn to change with changing times to accommodate new living standards.

BTW, listing other countries taxi fares may not be appropriate as their transport policies are different from Singapore's. You are not really comparing an apple with an apple.

Regards; December 26, 2007 6:18 PM
hongjun said...: Hi Mr Tan,

I would first like to thank you for the effort in doing the comparison. Just from first look comparison among Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, I would say Singapore's certainly looks really long!

I do agree Singapore should be awarded the most complicated taxi pricing in the world. With ERP (Everybody Really Pays) plus all the many different types of surcharges and complicated calculations, I really need to give a big WOW to Public Transport Council and all the taxi operators. How on earth can a commuter like you and me remember all these? I must admit I am in fact shocked to know there are so many surcharges that I am unaware of. Details like 'extra charge for 1st/2nd day of Chinese New Year', etc.. Wow!! The formula being programmed is amazing.

Regards
Loh Hon Chun; December 26, 2007 11:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Mr Tan is right to list out the comparison with other countries since we are always benchmarking ourselves against the best in the world. To say that it is unfair comparison because we have competition is strange.. (You mean HK or Taipei have no competition?). But maybe it would be more convincing if some other "developed" nation with GDP per capita near/similar with Singapore and infrastructure that is reknown is included.

While we may sympathise with the taxi drivers, the discussion here is more on the taxi operators way of bringing fair value to the customers and its shareholders. The taxi drivers plight is an effect while the cause would be the inefficiency of the taxi operators in giving a fair value to both consumers, their shareholders as well as corporate social responsibility to the society at large as they are public transport operator(that had been privatised).

Therein lies the irony.. the privatisation of the public transport operators was meant to bring about greater efficiency and better service to the consumers through competition. However, it seems that we are not improving much when we compare with the other countries... Maybe it's time to bring in foreign talent to replace the local CEOs...and bring in fresh perspective..haha... and we will have another round of discussin on why we need FT..; December 26, 2007 11:51 PM
Anonymous said...: haha... it is humorous of Mr. Tan to end it with such a conclusion. :) Thanks for sharing.; December 26, 2007 11:57 PM
Anonymous said...: It is very hard for one (at least for me) to believe there is a fair "competition", when the sheer size of one operator (owning 70%+ of all taxis on the road) can single handedly tip the scale. Even when all the other operators merge against this operator, there is still hardly any competition to talk about. So the smaller operators have no choice but to adopt the strategy of "If you can't beat them, join them".; December 27, 2007 8:51 AM
dsowerg said...: It would be fine and good if taxi companies themselves also share the pain. However, the general perception is that these taxi companies only sit back and collect taxi rentals, leaving taxi drivers to fend for themselves. No benefits, no insurance. If you get into an accident, may god help you because you still have to pay for the rental even if your car is in the repair workshop.

While taxi drivers continue to be crushed under increasing costs of driving a taxi, these taxi companies bosses sit in their air-conditioned office counting the profits trickling in.

I believe that's where most of the resentment is directed towards.

Not to mention, our toothless PTC and the useless Ministry of Transport.

It's good you mentioned that Singapore's public transport policy is different from other countries. As many have pointed out, our unique public transport policy has so far produced INFERIOR results. Time to buck up, MoT.; December 27, 2007 4:57 PM
Anonymous said...: On the bright side, I believe their shareholders will be very happy.

Regards; December 27, 2007 9:40 PM
hongjun said...: I thought Evelin and hanglian comments are very valid.

When a giant submits a fare hike request, my mind tells me the other smaller operators will follow. And unsurprisingly, all followed. There is no competition at all.

Despite taxi drivers making known their unhappiness over the fee hike in fear of less passengers, the operators still carry on with their plan. This simply tell us corporate profit is their number one priority isn't it? Why increase fare hike when corporate profit is always in the uptrend? Why not "share" the profits to the public by keeping fares unchanged?

The present PTC should either sit down and look at the whole picture again in detail and if not just change the team.

hongjun; December 27, 2007 11:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Mr Tan
Just to give my input regarding taxi fares here.
On 24th Dec, i took a taxi from Changi Airport to Meragi Road (a few kms) away, i paid $15+ (can't remember how many cents) although the fare meter showed $8+. I thought it is ridiculous. The taxi driver told me that there is a peak hr surcharge, $1 for public holiday (Christmas eve is considered public holiday???), etc. I regret not taking note of the taxi number or getting a receipt.
Yes, i must say that taxi fares are getting very high in Singapore.

Just a comment,
clive choo; December 28, 2007 12:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Mr Tan,
Yes most of the Taxi Drivers are hard workingi agree but did u see the other side of the taxi drivers? Few weeks ago i took a taxi with my family as all adults are tired and fast asleep while i the kid am still awake was looking at what road the taxi driver took and his like deliberately making rounds and rounds and there's like a jam at the right while smooth on the left but he just queue into the right despite left is a faster way there to my dest. and i am looking at his driving licence it's like he has been working as a cab driver for like 5 years i dont really understand, dont tell me he doesnt know that road for 5 years in this industry and this road is quite common/ popular, yes need for money is a thing but cheating customers is another thing does they even what is so called principle...

Just Something i would like to point out.

Lumdiz; April 03, 2008 2:34 PM
Anonymous said...: I am basically the "anti-policy type"
Four month ago I started driving a Comfort taxi due to the loss of my job.When you are in the shoes will you be able to appreciate the issue. like the general behaviour of a cab driver.
Regarding the price level,let demand and supply dictate.For those who think it's expensive, we have our public transport .You need a car and ahmad must pay lah!
The pricing at different time address problems that you don.t understand. Why should a cab driver go to the city area and endure the congestion if there is no incentive to be there.
Why can't a Cab driver make a few K per month (we drive 12 hrs)?; November 20, 2008 4:14 PM
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Taxi fares in Singapore

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