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Serious Huge Oversupply of Rental Cars And Idle Cabs! Not Enough Sinkie PMETs Retrenched!

JohnTan

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
taxis_2.jpg


Private-hire operators are plagued by a rising number of unhired cars even as the overall rental car population keeps hitting record highs month after month.

Checks by The Straits Times last month revealed that there were close to 1,000 brand new cars - many wearing the Uber-owned Lion City Rental number plates - lying unused at a number of multi-storey carparks here.This mirrors the situation faced by taxi companies, which are also saddled with well over 1,000 idle cabs.

According to Land Transport Authority statistics, there are around 50,000 rental cars in Singapore - more than three times the rental car population before Uber and Grab entered the fray in 2013.


As many as 30,000 are attributable to private-hire companies such as Uber, Grab, EthozCab, Strides, Prime, Tribecar and Wolero.

The taxi population stands at around 27,500, 3 per cent smaller than in 2013. While the dip is relatively minor, it is a contrast to decades of continuous growth.

Insiders said the large pool of unhired vehicles is a sign that the market has reached saturation point.

"The honeymoon period is over," said the head of a rental fleet owner who declined to be named because he supplies cars to the main private-hire players.

"There are definitely not enough drivers to go around. And those who have been driving are finding out that it's not that easy to make a living."

Uber driver Jerry Yeo, 44, switched from a monthly rental car to an hourly arrangement with Smove recently because "the cost is lower". Mr Yeo has been driving with Uber for just over two years, but reckons he will not stay much longer. "The earnings are not attractive," he noted. "There are no long-term prospects."

Taxi driver Alan Tang, 54, said cabbies are also feeling the earnings crunch because of the heightened competition brought about by private-hire cars.

"We should do away with all the surcharges, which are killing taxi drivers," Mr Tang said, noting that private-hire cars do not impose such surcharges. "Otherwise, there will be fewer and fewer taxis on the road in the future."

Mr Tang added: "I was at the CityCab building last week and even the carpark ramps are filled with cabs. They've run out of space to park these idle taxis."

Asked about its unhired rate, a ComfortDelGro spokesman said: "We do not divulge competitive information."

Likewise, neither Uber nor Grab would comment on the number of idle cars they have.

"We don't disclose that kind of information," an Uber spokesman said. His Grab counterpart said: "We are experiencing a healthy demand for rental cars. Currently, there are more than 50,000 Grab drivers in Singapore."

SIM University economist Walter Theseira said: "The regulators want to take advantage of the potential third-party apps' offer to improve the taxi market, but they are very cautious about breaking the existing taxi pricing and operating model."

National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der-Horng said: "Supply has increased but demand has not grown accordingly.

"This is an unhealthy development for taxi drivers since most of them take up driving as their profession and it is their rice bowl. However, private-hire drivers are much more fluid since most of them are part-time drivers."

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/rental-cars-unhired-taxis-sitting-idle
 

virus

Alfrescian
Loyal
cabbie unker also told me taxi companies overcharging them, he also turning in the keys because the ministar in charge of transport told their union to fark off.
 

JohnTan

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
cabbie unker also told me taxi companies overcharging them, he also turning in the keys because the ministar in charge of transport told their union to fark off.

We should leverage on CECA to bring in 100,000 more kelings on E-Pass and S-Pass, and fire 100,000 sinkies. That would solve our oversupply problems with rental cars and taxis overnight.
 

Seee3

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Wise leaders thinks that they can maintain coe at 50k by introducing uber and grab to increase demand for car rental. The financial year is coming to an end. Lets see how much they peg the coe level for next FY. Coe constitute 10% of govt revenue at about 7 billion. Allot of money.
 

red amoeba

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Level playing field my ass. Technically a ATB can drive Uber in the day n WL in the same car at night or moonlight in geylang at night.

Can a Singaporean uncle do that as a taxi driver ?
 

numero uno

Alfrescian
Loyal
cabbie unker also told me taxi companies overcharging them, he also turning in the keys because the ministar in charge of transport told their union to fark off.

karma. taxi drivers and companies are in cahoot. for many years people have been complaining about their dirty tactics. choosing who and when to pick up. Disappearing at around midnight. Overcharging and all sorts fo complicated surcharges to cheat . lazy drivers who likes to drive and cut in and out dangerously. For many years all the companies and their drivers refused to change. Now with Uber and Grab why x complain?? they deserved it!!!! farkers deserved to die slowly . nowadays i refused to take taxis . only limo or high end grab car. fark these taxi drivers. really makes me happy to see them suffer and complain. perfect karma. good riddance
 

chootchiew

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Hi sir, IMHO our taxi industries supplies & demands are hit with a problem caused by greediness.

1. Taxi companies commissioned a over supply of taxis
2. Existing taxi drivers play the choose vegetables game, hide and seek game to earn the extra booking fees
.
I encountered very funny situation whereby the taxis and passengers queuing at taxi stand playing the poker game. A few taxi was parking about 100 to 200m away from the taxi stand, refusing to drive to the taxi stand, and the long queuing passengers refusing to take out their mobile phone to book. :biggrin::*:
 

JohnTan

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Hi sir, IMHO our taxi industries supplies & demands are hit with a problem caused by greediness.

1. Taxi companies commissioned a over supply of taxis
2. Existing taxi drivers play the choose vegetables game, hide and seek game to earn the extra booking fees
.
I encountered very funny situation whereby the taxis and passengers queuing at taxi stand playing the poker game. A few taxi was parking about 100 to 200m away from the taxi stand, refusing to drive to the taxi stand, and the long queuing passengers refusing to take out their mobile phone to book. :biggrin::*:

If taxi drivers can be picky about their passengers, it means that taxi rentals are too low. Otherwise, they would have grabbed every available passenger to cover their daily rent.
 

krafty

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
If taxi drivers can be picky about their passengers, it means that taxi rentals are too low. Otherwise, they would have grabbed every available passenger to cover their daily rent.

ah john, your ignorance in the above statement shows that you are truly a boss, not destined for taxi driver kind of job. besides, it really doesn't work like that.
 

chootchiew

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
If taxi drivers can be picky about their passengers, it means that taxi rentals are too low. Otherwise, they would have grabbed every available passenger to cover their daily rent.

Yes I say increase their rental is the way to go.
 

JohnTan

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
ah john, your ignorance in the above statement shows that you are truly a boss, not destined for taxi driver kind of job. besides, it really doesn't work like that.

I am a landlord who oversees tenanted businesses. When they get too slack about their working hours, it often means they easily made enough money to cover the rent without having to work overtime or weekends. So, it meant I negotiated poorly and asked for too low a rent. The rent would go up once the agreement expires.
 

krafty

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I am a landlord who oversees tenanted businesses. When they get too slack about their working hours, it often means they easily made enough money to cover the rent without having to work overtime or weekends. So, it meant I negotiated poorly and asked for too low a rent. The rent would go up once the agreement expires.

it's ok i promise that i will keep your landlord status as a secret. only the ones reading this will know, i assume...:biggrin:
 

chootchiew

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I am a landlord who oversees tenanted businesses. When they get too slack about their working hours, it often means they easily made enough money to cover the rent without having to work overtime or weekends. So, it meant I negotiated poorly and asked for too low a rent. The rent would go up once the agreement expires.

Sir, good observations. Punishing lazy tenants by increasing the rents is the way to go.
 

frenchbriefs

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I am a landlord who oversees tenanted businesses. When they get too slack about their working hours, it often means they easily made enough money to cover the rent without having to work overtime or weekends. So, it meant I negotiated poorly and asked for too low a rent. The rent would go up once the agreement expires.

Or it could mean ur shopping mall is a piece of shit there's barely any foot traffic,why would any business slack off when they can be raking in money hand over fist.its like a Zhi char store or cai PNG store that doesn't want long queues.better cut ur rents soon just like these taxi companies cutting their rentals or all ur tenants will be gone with the wind.
 
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