Man shocked by $82 cab fare

[MarrickG]

By Nur Asyiqin

For $82.59, he could have bought a ticket, not including taxes, to fly on a budget airline from Singapore to Cebu in the Philippines.

But this was what Mr A. Kochumadhavan paid for a 90-minute taxi ride from Changi Airport to Jurong West.

Cabbies whom The New Paper spoke to said that this is the steepest fare they have heard of in all their years of driving taxis.

Mr Kochumadhavan, who rarely takes taxis, said: "I was conversing with the driver, but I didn't look at the meter until the end of the ride, so I was shocked."

On Dec 23 last year, he arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 3 after a 27-hour flight from Lisbon, Portugal.

WAITED IN LINE

Exhausted and weighed down by his luggage, the 63-year-old fleet manager decided not to take the bus or the MRT train.

As he waited in line at the airport taxi stand at Terminal 3, a taxi coordinator waved him over to a black Chrysler.

He got into the cab at 6.07pm, unaware that SMRT Chrysler taxis command premium fares.

He normally tells the driver to take the PIE, but that Friday evening, there was a heavy traffic jam on the expressway.

The driver suggested taking the ECP instead. It was smooth sailing at first, but once they hit Normanton Park, traffic slowed to a crawl.

Mr Kochumadhavan arrived at his home in Jurong West at 7.34pm, nearly 90 minutes later.

The metered charge for the trip was $62.10. With the $5 airport surcharge and a 25 per cent peak-hour surcharge, his bill was a whopping $82.59 for the trip.

If Mr Kochumadhavan had booked a Chrysler taxi on the SMRT hotline to pick him up at the airport, he would have been charged a flat rate of only $70, regardless of the distance travelled.

A seven-seater taxi booked at the transport counter at Changi Airport costs $50 a trip.

Mr Kochumadhavan, who has worked at a tankship management company for 17 years, travels overseas for business about five times in a year.

He said: "The charge was really too steep. I've never had to pay so much for a cab to get home from the airport."

Just last November, after a trip to India, he took a taxi at Changi Airport to get home and the fare came up to $45, almost half his fare in the Chrysler taxi.

When TNP asked seven cabbies, they estimated the fare at $45 for a peak-hour trip from the airport to Jurong West.

Mr Kochumadhavan said: "I've only heard of London cabs and Mercedes cabs charging higher fares than normal taxis. I never knew Chrysler cabs would charge even steeper prices."

The Chrysler is considered a luxury taxi. It has a flag-down rate of $5 - almost $2 more than SMRT's other taxi models - and its distance-based charge is 11 cents higher.

The ground transport desk at Changi Airport said it is protocol for coordinators managing the taxi queue to disclose the steeper prices to passengers boarding premium taxis.

But Mr Kochumadhavan claims he was not told about the higher fares before he boarded the taxi.

Another traveller, who declined to be named, said he was also not told about the higher fare.

Mr Kochumadhavan said: "At the end of the ride, the driver explained that Chrysler cabs usually charge almost 60 per cent more than normal taxis.

"I don't understand why. It didn't even look like a posh car. My neighbour has a Chrysler."

When Mr Hanaf Mohamad Nor, a taxi driver of 10 years, was told about the $82.59 fare, he exclaimed: "Cannot be! Impossible!"

But when told the passenger was in a Chrysler cab, he said with a nod: "If it was a Chrysler and he was stuck in a jam for so long, I'm not surprised he had to pay so much."

Mr Robert Thio, who has been driving a taxi for seven years, agreed and said: "The passenger should have asked first. Anyway, just pay to learn. That's life."

Eight out of 10 taxi commuters approached by TNP were aware that Chrysler taxis command higher fares.

Freelance designer Khairul Anuar, 29, who takes taxis almost daily, said he has never paid more than $40 for a single trip.

"Chrysler cabs are on a different price level from the more common cabs. It's not for the average person and definitely not for people who 'cab' regularly," he said.

[red amoeba]

fucker better not be a sinkie...whole singapore knows Chrysler cabs are bloodsuckers and to be avoided at all costs.

no wonder ex-CEO of SMRT is so highly paid...bcos of carrot heads like him.

[Raiders]

fucker better not be a sinkie...whole singapore knows Chrysler cabs are bloodsuckers and to be avoided at all costs.

no wonder ex-CEO of SMRT is so highly paid...bcos of carrot heads like him.

I was a carrot once. My wife and I was back in Singapore after a 8 hours delay in flight and the plane touched down at 6am in the morning. We were too stoned, steamed and tired to realised that we were ushered into a Chrysler until I noticed the fare when I reached home

[streetsmart73]

hi there


1. this keling must be blind and deaf.
2. at the airport terminal, those cab captains on duty usually "forewarned" passengers on the fare & charges of these black box on wheel.
3. is this ah neh some ft or what?

[eErotica69]

Yes, is Chrysler cab, so is more expensive.

If this fellow cannot afford $82, he should take other can or the MRT!!

[kingrant]

Fucking stupid Indian. He deserved to be ripped. Don't tell me he's so naive and never travelled before that when transport providers accost you in the airport lobby it can mean only one thing - touts. And even when he saw the Chrysler, it still didnt ring his bells?

I think he's a typical Indian. Thot he was getting a good deal to brag about when he gets home. haha..now he laughs last.

[red amoeba]

I was a carrot once. My wife and I was back in Singapore after a 8 hours delay in flight and the plane touched down at 6am in the morning. We were too stoned, steamed and tired to realised that we were ushered into a Chrysler until I noticed the fare when I reached home

usu the taxi coordinator will warn you - Chrysler cab....i have seen it at the taxi queue at the airport...usu the ang mohs dunno bo chup (bcos company pays) or ignorant, will hop onto the Chrysler because i always decline and pass the buck to the one behind me.

[Narong Wongwan]

fucking Chrysler cab more expensive than Merc cab? knn makes no fucking sense.
i took a Chrysler cab once from Paramount after drinking session not aware of its 'premium status'.....i find it funny the way the cabby was harping on how 'lucky' i was to be able to flag down his cab.....as he usually only does 'bookings'....then he goes on to blah about his CEO, foreigners, rich clientele etc....knn i was thinking this fucker got issues man.....i was a bit tipsy so just ignored him......then he goes on about his glory days working in the corporate world before being a cabby that is why he explains his engrish being so power....and how he makes more than normal cabbies..all the princely sum of $3000 bucks! are all the Chrysler cabbies got such attitudes or was i just being unlucky? pissed me off so much i din bother to tip him and insist on my change back including the coins

[Spock]

I never knew it was possible for a journey to take 90 minutes in SG without it ending in the sea or in a foreign country.

[soikee]

$82 for a 90 min cab ride is considered very cheap compared to taxi fares in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney.

Anyway if a bowl of Hokkien prawn mee and a plate of carrot cake can cost $18 and $10 respectively, why can't the cab-driver charge $82 for a 90 min ride?

It's inflation!

[soikee]

Katong in the early 60's and Katong today.

[halsey02]

hi there


1. this keling must be blind and deaf.
2. at the airport terminal, those cab captains on duty usually "forewarned" passengers on the fare & charges of these black box on wheel.
3. is this ah neh some ft or what?

No they don't, they do not have the authority to do that, the taxi driver will complain.

[red amoeba]

No they don't, they do not have the authority to do that, the taxi driver will complain.

they do forewarn...i have seen / heard it. All the locals know, anyways to shun these cabs.

Only ang mohs take them.

[ssrrvv11]

they do forewarn...i have seen / heard it. All the locals know, anyways to shun these cabs.

Only ang mohs take them.

i agree with u. when i was the next in queue at changi airport waiting for a cab, the next available cab is a chrysler. the usher ask me if i wanna take. i say dont want of course and he proceeded to let me take the next normal cab. all this while the chrysler taxi driver is standing at the waiting bay using a cloth to clean his taxi. he must be standing there cleaning his taxi for quite a while already, seeing all other normal cabs after him pick up fares.