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SINGAPORE - Those looking for a taxi can look to shorter waiting times and improved reliability in securing taxi bookings following a review that identified the two areas as needing the most improvement.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA), which conducted the review, will introduce a slew of measures to improve the quality of taxi service, Minister of Transport Lui Tuck Yew said in Parliament on Wednesday.
It will raise the Quality of Service (QoS) standards, which specify taxi companies' required performances, for call bookings and safety performances.
Large taxi companies with a fleet of at least 1,000 taxis will have to make sure at least 90 per cent of calls to book taxis get through within 20 seconds, instead of the current 85 per cent of calls within 30 seconds.
Companies also have to make sure that at least 95 per cent of these calls are answered, up from 90 per cent currently. They must also make sure that at least 92 per cent of the callers are matched to taxis, up from 90 per cent.
Taxis which are booked must arrive within 10 minutes 95 per cent of the time, instead of 85 per cent currently.
98 per cent of a taxi company's fleet must also pass the first inspection. LTA requires every taxi to undergo inspection every six months to ensure commuters’ safety and comfort.
The minimum taxi-fleet size under new requirements will also be raised from 400 taxis to 800.
MOVE TO CURB ABUSE OF ON-CALL SIGN
To reduce the misuse of "on-call" signs - such as when cabbies switch it on to refuse passengers - all firms must equip their fleet with a centrally controlled "on-call" display. It can be switched on only when cabbies accept a call booking.
Companies need to ensure that it is implemented in at least 40 per cent of their fleet by the end of the year, and 100 per cent by the end of 2015.
Taxi companies that fail the same minimum standards for two consecutive months are liable to a financial penalty, if they are unable to provide an acceptable reason for the second consecutive failure, said an LTA spokesman.
LTA is also doing a study, expected to be completed later this year, to look into regulating taxi firms to improve the availability of cabs during peak hours.
The MRT system will also see a boost in capacity, with SBS Transit adding 60 weekly train trips to the North-East Line from March 19. This will cut average waiting times by up to two minutes, from 5.5 minutes on weekdays, between 6.45am and 7.30am.
Marketing manager Sharon Lim, 28, hopes the new measures can ease her travel woes. After 6pm, she often misses one to two crowded buses before she can board one opposite Raffles City to get home. Even then, she has to jostle with other commuters.
"It is such a frustrating and tiring process every day, especially when it is costly to catch a cab in town and I don't have a direct train (home)."
Additional reporting by Gwendolyn Ng
Updated on March 8, 2012. A version of this article appeared in my paper on March 8, 2012.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA), which conducted the review, will introduce a slew of measures to improve the quality of taxi service, Minister of Transport Lui Tuck Yew said in Parliament on Wednesday.
It will raise the Quality of Service (QoS) standards, which specify taxi companies' required performances, for call bookings and safety performances.
Large taxi companies with a fleet of at least 1,000 taxis will have to make sure at least 90 per cent of calls to book taxis get through within 20 seconds, instead of the current 85 per cent of calls within 30 seconds.
Companies also have to make sure that at least 95 per cent of these calls are answered, up from 90 per cent currently. They must also make sure that at least 92 per cent of the callers are matched to taxis, up from 90 per cent.
Taxis which are booked must arrive within 10 minutes 95 per cent of the time, instead of 85 per cent currently.
98 per cent of a taxi company's fleet must also pass the first inspection. LTA requires every taxi to undergo inspection every six months to ensure commuters’ safety and comfort.
The minimum taxi-fleet size under new requirements will also be raised from 400 taxis to 800.
MOVE TO CURB ABUSE OF ON-CALL SIGN
To reduce the misuse of "on-call" signs - such as when cabbies switch it on to refuse passengers - all firms must equip their fleet with a centrally controlled "on-call" display. It can be switched on only when cabbies accept a call booking.
Companies need to ensure that it is implemented in at least 40 per cent of their fleet by the end of the year, and 100 per cent by the end of 2015.
Taxi companies that fail the same minimum standards for two consecutive months are liable to a financial penalty, if they are unable to provide an acceptable reason for the second consecutive failure, said an LTA spokesman.
LTA is also doing a study, expected to be completed later this year, to look into regulating taxi firms to improve the availability of cabs during peak hours.
The MRT system will also see a boost in capacity, with SBS Transit adding 60 weekly train trips to the North-East Line from March 19. This will cut average waiting times by up to two minutes, from 5.5 minutes on weekdays, between 6.45am and 7.30am.
Marketing manager Sharon Lim, 28, hopes the new measures can ease her travel woes. After 6pm, she often misses one to two crowded buses before she can board one opposite Raffles City to get home. Even then, she has to jostle with other commuters.
"It is such a frustrating and tiring process every day, especially when it is costly to catch a cab in town and I don't have a direct train (home)."
Additional reporting by Gwendolyn Ng
Updated on March 8, 2012. A version of this article appeared in my paper on March 8, 2012.
