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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.
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.
