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THE HARD TRUTH PART 1
Was having coffee with my cabby friends in Lorong 18 last night.
Was admiring all the young beauty china girls standing opposite
our coffee shop . They are really standing in a line like
what you see at National Day parade . At almost the same spot
for hours waiting for her next customer. Going price S$60/- for 45 mins.
These are fly by nite type . Longer time and etc ... Price can
negotiate. My friend then asked to look at 2 men standing at
the opp corner . They are the "pimps" keeping an eye on the girls
and lookout for police.
Next we gone back to the subject of price taxi fare increase
We discussed that CASE is really barking up the wrong tree !!!
The wrong tree here ( the cabbies )
The right tree should be the taxi provider like comfortdelgro.
Instead , ComfortDelgro should DO more to help it 20,000 taxi drivers.
( with relief drivers throw - in you add another 10,000 drivers ) .
Total : 30,000 driver at Comfort Delgro alone !!!
Excluding others providers like Prime , Smart , SMRT etc....
For the past 4 to 5 years all taxi drivers in Singapore have
been taking all the various price increase quietly :
a ) Diesel Price up more than 28 percent for the past 2 yrs at
ComfortDelgro pumps. Outside pump worst , i think. Diesel price
is the killer
b) Rental charges quietly and slowly moving up since the past 2 yrs.
c ) National Taxi Association , NTA , is a joke . There are about 50,000
taxi drivers and they have about 12,000 members. You maybe hear
about NTA on occassion like this one or when it is our National Day.
d) Wee Boon Kim drives for ComfortDelgro.
e) Passengers and Commuters get their Yearly salary adjustment and
yearly bonus . Cabbies get theirs , hopefully, every 4 to 5 years.
f) Cabbie got no cpf , annual leave and medical claim benefits.
g) Most CBD passengers and biz travellers can claim their taxi fares
with their bosses .
h) Taxi driver most of them adsorb fares cheat due to the troublesome
and time consuming.
The Morale of the story and the Hard Truth :
Who are the Real Geylang Girls and Who are the Real Pimp ???
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CASE says taxi fare increase "quite hefty"
By Wayne Chan & Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 06 December 2011 1926 hrs
SINGAPORE:
Singapore's consumer watchdog Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has asked for justification in taxi fare revision.
CASE executive director Seah Seng Choon said: "The fare increase in our view is quite hefty. I suppose if they say it is supply and demand, they should then reveal the findings they have so that the public is aware of the rationale for such adjustment."
The new fares by Singapore's largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro will kick in on December 12 just as festive shopping kicks into high gear.
The new fare structure has drawn flak from commuters, who are unhappy over having to pay more, especially at night.
Some commuters are upset that the peak period has been extended to stretch from 6pm to midnight, compared to 5pm to 8pm currently.
"I think taxi fares shouldn't increase any further because with the surcharges and the ERP fees, they are already incorporated into these taxi cab fares. I think it would just be too exorbitant," said a female passenger.
Another passenger said: "I think it's ridiculous. It's too expensive and it's so hard to get taxis at peak hours especially."
Others felt the adjustment was still acceptable.
"Things are going up and taxi drivers need to live as well. It's not very much compared to other countries you have to pay much more," said one passenger.
Singapore's competition watchdog also reminded trade associations not to become a vehicle to facilitate price collusion or price-fixing.
This came a day after the National Taxi Association urged other taxi companies to adjust their fares in line with Comfort DelGro's revision.
The National Taxi Association, a trade union body representing 12,000 taxi drivers, said drivers of other companies also face similar operating cost pressures and the drivers expect the association to reflect these ground sentiments to taxi companies so that they are taken into account when setting taxi fares.
National Taxi Association president Wee Boon Kim said: "We need to (adjust the fares) because our drivers have been making a lot of noise about diesel prices going up tremendously. No one can help and we have to look into the income of our drivers. Being the leaders of the taxi association, that's very important for the interests of our drivers."
Most Comfort DelGro taxi drivers which Channel NewsAsia spoke to said the raise in taxi fares may keep passengers away for a while but they do not think that there will be any long-term effect on their business.
One taxi driver said: "The night drivers will benefit more. We (morning drivers) will benefit less. I don't think there will be much difference. It will be a few months before people will take cab again."
Another taxi driver said: "There are still passengers who like to take cab because if they are taking cab, they have more privacy for themselves. It should be okay."
The other taxi operators said they are reviewing the situation to see if they should also revise their fares.
In response, Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for transport, Cedric Foo said in a de-regulated sector, market forces should be left alone to work itself out.
To cater to those who want a more comfortable ride, Mr Foo suggested that the Land Transport Authority look into expanding the capacity of "business-class" express buses plying between housing estate and city hubs during peak periods.
Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, Comfort Delgro said it has currently no plans to increase taxi rental and that it will continue to subsidise diesel for its cabbies.
- CNA/fa
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ComfortDelGro up on BNP Paribas' upgrade
BNP Paribas raised its target price to S$1.98 from S$1.63. -Reuters
Mon, Jan 10, 2011
AsiaOne
SINGAPORE - Shares of Singapore transport operator ComfortDelGro rose as much as 3.1 percent on Monday after BNP Paribas upgraded its rating to "buy" from "hold" and raised its target price to S$1.98 from S$1.63.
At 0403 GMT, Comfort DelGro shares were up 2.5 percent at S$1.63 on a volume of 7.2 million shares.
BNP Paribas said it expects higher margins from ComfortDelGro's overseas businesses, such as its Australia bus operations as well as China taxi and bus stations, adding that its reduction of fuel subsidies at end-December is likely to buffer its margins.
"For Singapore side, ComfortDelGro will have to take the ridership risks, so if the ridership does not grow their margins will be not as high accordingly," said Brenda Lee, an analyst at BNP Paribas who covers the firm.
"
But overseas it's based on fixed contracts. Whether there is sufficient ridership or not they can still continue to enjoy similar margins, and if they improve their service, the overseas governments can actually give them some rebates," she added.
BNP Paribas said that based on its FY2011 estimates, ComfortDelGro trades at 13.6 times price-earnings ratio, a 25 percent discount to its closest peer SMRT Corporation.
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ComfortDelGro U-turns after upping rentals
Higher rental rates became an option for cab companies trying to
reduce the impact of higher vehicle prices. -AsiaOne
Wed, Jan 19, 2011
AsiaOne
THE daily rental rate for all Sonata ComfortDelGro cabs is back to $98 after a 17-day hike of $2, The Straits Times (ST) reported.
New cabbies had been paying the adjusted rate of $100 since Jan 1 for Hyundai Sonatas a year old or newer, and $99 for those between one and two years old.
"About 30 new hirers affected will be refunded the extra payment made since Jan 1," ComfortDelGro spokesman Tammy Tan told ST. She said the rental hike was "not sanctioned by top management".
Higher rental rates became an option for cab companies trying to reduce the impact of vehicle prices, which soared together with certificate of entitlement (COE) prices in recent months. The companies, however, approached this move cautiously, as cabbies could leave for other firms, or demand fare increases which would upset commuters.
These are possible reasons for the decision made by ComfortDelGro to revert to the previous rental rate.
Prime Taxis, on the other hand, is not set to revert its $3 daily rental increase, introduced just before this year. The newest and smallest taxi firm's approximately 700 taxis cost $78 to $90 a day, after an earlier $3 raise in April 2010 due to steep COE prices that resulted from a supply cut.
The remaining four taxi companies - Trans-Cab, SMRT Taxis, Smart and Premier - have not increased their rental rates. While Smart and Premier told ST that they had no plans to revise rentals, Trans-Cab is not dismissing the possibility. The firm currently charges $99 a day for its Toyota Wish taxis.
As for SMRT, it said it has not decided but sources expect its new fleet of Chevrolet Toscas to cost more than $100 a day in rental.
A raise in flag-down fares was last seen in 2008. Firms have since modified other parts of the fares, like setting higher and more surcharges and by launching "premier" cabs that charge more.
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ComfortDelGro Corp : ComfortDelGro's results for third quarter ended 30 September 2011
COMFORTDELGRO'S RESULTS FOR THIRD QUARTER ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
• Quarterly revenue increased by 6.5% to a record $877.0 million.
o Revenue growth was broad-based with increases coming from all business segments.
o Revenue growth would have been higher at 7.6% had it not been for the negative foreign currency translation effect of $8.6 million.
o Revenue from overseas businesses accounted for 42.0% of total Group revenue.
o Revenue from the overseas bus business continued to outstrip that of the Singapore operations, accounting for 62.9% of total Group bus revenue.
• Operating profit grew by 7.0% to $113.6 million in line with the growth in revenue.
o Overseas operating profit accounted for 47.8% of Group operating profit
o Operating profit of overseas bus businesses accounted for a record
84.0% of total Group bus operating profit
o The public scheduled bus business under SBS Transit in Singapore suffered an operating loss of $42,000 during the quarter due to a significant increase in operating cost.
• Net profit increased by 12.5% to $69.1 million.
http://www.4-traders.com/COMFORTDEL...ird-quarter-ended-30-September-2011-13888998/
It gets bad when some of these machines break down. You often see foreigners/tourists struggle to understand SMRT convoluted system of refund
Heck, even I have problems, when I forget to bring my MRT card. :o
