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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Lowering taxi fares won't help cabbies
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM a taxi driver and find my income falling because of the economic downturn.
Passengers who used to take longer trips now take very short ones, usually to the nearest MRT station, and then take the train to complete their journey. Most of the time, I cruise around looking for passengers or join the taxi queue at a taxi stand. Waiting time can be quite long - 15 to 30 minutes - depending on my luck.
There are so many taxis from different taxi companies - red, green, blue, yellow, silver, white, black and yellow top - on the road competing for so few passengers. I think Singapore is the only country in the world with so many types of taxis in so many colours and it confuses everyone.
I disagree with Mr Raymund Koh's view on Tuesday ('To help cabbies, lower taxi rent') that fares should be lowered. But I agree that taxi rent should be lowered.
Taxi drivers have few options when lowering costs. There are only two costs: fuel and rent. Fuel cost has been reduced and passengers no longer have to pay the the fuel surcharge. So rent reduction should be considered, and there we are at the mercy of the taxi companies.
It is too simplistic to say that lower taxi fares will draw in more passengers. People complain that train and bus fares are too high and some resort to car pooling or cycling. Would lower taxi fares draw these would-be passengers to taxis?
Lee King Thai
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM a taxi driver and find my income falling because of the economic downturn.
Passengers who used to take longer trips now take very short ones, usually to the nearest MRT station, and then take the train to complete their journey. Most of the time, I cruise around looking for passengers or join the taxi queue at a taxi stand. Waiting time can be quite long - 15 to 30 minutes - depending on my luck.
There are so many taxis from different taxi companies - red, green, blue, yellow, silver, white, black and yellow top - on the road competing for so few passengers. I think Singapore is the only country in the world with so many types of taxis in so many colours and it confuses everyone.
I disagree with Mr Raymund Koh's view on Tuesday ('To help cabbies, lower taxi rent') that fares should be lowered. But I agree that taxi rent should be lowered.
Taxi drivers have few options when lowering costs. There are only two costs: fuel and rent. Fuel cost has been reduced and passengers no longer have to pay the the fuel surcharge. So rent reduction should be considered, and there we are at the mercy of the taxi companies.
It is too simplistic to say that lower taxi fares will draw in more passengers. People complain that train and bus fares are too high and some resort to car pooling or cycling. Would lower taxi fares draw these would-be passengers to taxis?
Lee King Thai