Extend city area surcharge to more areas

Dec 14, 2007

I AM a taxi driver and I have some concerns about the city area surcharge which I hope ComfortDelGro Corp will look into.

I agree that this measure is the best way to harmonise the demand for and supply of taxis in the Central Business District (CBD).

But not including other areas of high demand on the fringes of the CBD will create more problems.

Too many taxis would be inside the CBD even as demand declined because of the surcharge, while far too few taxis would be serving the fringe areas where demand had not lessened because there is no surcharge.

Within the CBD, taxi drivers would end up waiting for commuters. Meanwhile, commuters at places like Vivocity, Harbourfront, Tiong Bahru, Great World City, Tanglin Mall, Orchard Towers, Liat Tower, Scotts, Newton, Golden Mile, Jalan Sultan, Rochor and Little India would find that the taxi problem had worsened. Taxi drivers would not stop for them. The only way to get a taxi might be to book one or to endure a long wait till the surcharge in the CBD ends at midnight.

So, what can Comfort do?

I suggest that Comfort be bold enough to apply the city area surcharge city-wide. Existing roads can be used as boundary markers. An enlarged city-surcharge area could look something like this: Clockwise, from the west, this boundary starts from Harbourfront Avenue, Telok Blangah Road, Kampong Bahru Road, Lower Delta Road, River Valley Road, Hoot Kiam Road, Grange Road, Orange Grove Road, Stevens Road, Scotts Road, Newton Road, Thomson Road, Balestier Road, Lavender Street and Crawford Street.

I hope Comfort would seriously consider my proposal. In this way, not every empty taxi from outlying areas that goes back to town needs to head straight into the CBD, and commuters who are just outside the CBD won't be complaining that taxis do not stop for them.

Lim Chik Siang

I REFER to the report, 'Will cabs vanish from city fringe?' (ST, Dec 12).

As an added incentive for cabbies to head downtown after dropping off passengers in the suburbs, ComfortDelGro, the largest taxi operator, is moving in the right direction by raising the CBD surcharge from $1 to $3, alongside other fare revisions.

However, the possibility of cabbies skipping the taxi stands along the outskirts of the CBD is cause for worry for people working or living just outside downtown, including tourists staying at hotels in the affected areas.

May I suggest that the new surcharge be extended to areas along the fringe of the CBD where many offices, shopping centres, residential apartments and hotels are located? These areas include:

# Tanglin Road junction with Napier Road.

# Scotts Road junction with Stevens Road.

# Beach Road junction with Crawford Street.

In addition, could the Land Transport Authority impose a $2 levy at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and Harbourfront Centre at all times? This would serve as an incentive for cabbies to head to these locations to cater to the long queues, comprising both locals and foreigners, waiting for taxis upon their return from the Indonesian islands.

Poh Soon Leong

Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings.