Monday, June 04, 2007

Bold steps needed to solve the taxi shortage

Mr Paul Chan Poh Hai wrote an excellent letter, published in the Straits Times. He suggested the following bold measures to solve the taxi shortage:

1. Abolish all surcharges and make phone booking a means to direct cabs where they are needed most.

2. Increase the flag down rate and charged more for extra distance travelled

3. Allow foreign drivers, if Singaporeans don't want the job

4. Let cabbies earn more with higher productivity and hard work. Waiting for phone bookings for extra money is counter productive and nurtures a bad work habit.

I agree with all the suggestions made by Paul Chan. I have a further suggestion:

5. (By Tan Kin Lian) - charge a flat daily rate in lieu of ERP and CBD charges for taxis. This encourages them to enter the CBD when they are needed the most.
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3 comments:

The Oriental Express said...

Encourage people to live near their place of work. Then they can also rely on their own No. 11 vehicle!

Encourage tourists to learn to take the bus and mrt. Our public system is so efficient.... they can save $$$ on cabs. I notice, most visitors often are the ones taking cabs.... sometimes when their destination is just down the road!

June 04, 2007 8:32 AM
Anonymous said...

Mr Tan, You said that taxi fares are expensive here. Now you are saying increase the flag down fare and increase the fare for extra distance travelled. Wouldn't this make taxi fare even more expensive.

What is your stand? Expensive yet you agreed to increase. Does not make any sense at all to me.

June 06, 2007 6:26 PM
Anonymous said...

There is no shortage of taxis.

The problem arise from taxi drivers wanted to make big buck with the least effort. They wait for the best time to carry passengers. Peak hours.

The solution is to issue more licences to yellow top taxis which do not have radio call service. These taxis have no other alternative but to carry passengers from the roadside. They will create competition for the taxis fleet operators.

June 07, 2007 10:11 PM

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