But before adjusting their meters, other operators await details of ComfortDelGro's plan
Thursday / December 6, 2007
Leong Wee Keat
weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg
AHEAD of an imminent fare increase that some say will deal another blow to the pockets of middle-class consumers, taxi operators are waiting for market leader ComfortDelGro to reveal further details before adjusting their meters.
This is despite the sentiments of at least one smaller taxi operator, Premier Taxis, who told Today that fares should have been raised as early as "six months" ago because of rising costs.
ComfortDelGro has notified the Public Transport Council of its plans for a fare increase. The council said yesterday that it has not received any letters from other taxi operators on fare adjustments.
Regarding this issue, an SMRT spokesperson said: "We are looking into it." The operator has about 3,000 taxis in its fleet.
Smart Taxis managing director Johnny Harjantho highlighted the dilemma facing small taxi operators, saying: "If we are the ones who take the lead by increasing our price, passengers can choose to boycott us. If you see our taxi, you can choose not to board; you wait for another minute and a Comfort taxi will arrive. On the other hand, if you want to boycott Comfort, you may have to wait for some time before a taxi from another company comes along."
Mr Harjantho said his 800-strong fleet might follow ComfortDelGro's lead in adjusting flag-down, waiting time and mileage rates, but not on surcharges.
Taxi drivers and the various associations have lobbied for months for fares to be raised in light of rising diesel costs and the two-percentage-point increase in the Goods and Services Tax. This week, Today readers urged taxi operators to do more to help drivers fight rising costs.
Premier Taxis managing director Lim Chong Boo said his company, which has about 2,300 taxis, has tried to help its drivers offset rising costs by offering free rentals and subsidised diesel prices to its drivers. But operators' costs are also escalating. "Our hands are tied. How far can we go in helping our drivers before our bottom line gets affected?"
Will the proposed fare hike substantially offset drivers' costs? Observers are cautious, saying that rentals will have to stay constant and that the "total package" of fare increases will have to be looked at, before taxi drivers can breathe a sign of relief.
What of commuters ?already primed to face projected inflation of 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent next year, after a 3.6-per-cent year-on-year increase recorded in October?
Asked if the fare hike would cause further unhappiness, Mr Ong Kian Min, deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for transport, said taxis are a premium service.
"People have a choice to take taxis, buses or the MRT. If they think taxis are too expensive, they could move on to other modes," he said.
But he acknowledged that those residents not well-served by public transport and who have to catch a taxi as a result could be affected.
Mr Han Songguang, a transport researcher at the National University of Singapore's Department of Geography, noted that the middle class and the less mobile, such as the elderly or the disabled, would be affected by the taxi fare hike.
The middle class, he said, is facing a "lose-lose situation" as the hikes will not have a big impact on the problem of the shortage of taxis, especially during peak hours.
What's more, "the middle class does not have a credible alternative. Cars may be out of reach and too expensive, while public transport may not bring them to where they want to go", said Mr Han.
October's consumer price index for transport and communications went up by 2.3 per cent as a result of higher prices of cars, petrol and increased bus fares.
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