Missing in action: Here are the passengers, but where are the cabs? photo illustrations kelvin chan
Mismatch: Cabs can only wait in yellow lots at taxi stands, but sometimes there aren't any passengers available.ELECTRIC NEWS
NEW RULE FOR CABS IN CBD CAUSES CONFUSION
PASSENGERS:WHERE ARE THE CABS?CABBIES:WHERE ARE THE PASSENGERS?
By Hedy Khoo
March 10, 2008
IT sounds like a good idea.
Taxi drivers can pick up and drop off passengers only at designated taxi stands in the Central Business District (CBD).
But in practice, this new rule that kicked in last Sunday has been giving cabbies and passengers the run-around.
Just ask taxi driver KC Soh, who kept a vigil at the taxi stand of One Fullerton.
His engine was running, it was the evening rush hour on a Tuesday, but no passenger was in sight.
Over at the nearby Battery Road taxi stand, a queue of least 11 passengers waited, hoping for cabs to come their way.
Mr Soh, 48, finally gave up after a half hour. 'I'm taking a booking instead.'
Apart from not being able to get passengers, the other big problem is space.
Most designated taxi stands in the CBD have between one and four waiting lots for taxis.
Taxis are not allowed to wait outside these yellow lots. So, cabbies have no choice but to drive on if they cannot join the queue.
Mr Hong Hong, 62, a taxi driver, said in Mandarin: 'I try to avoid the CBD. Going in there to pick up a passenger is like gambling.
'I get confused about which taxi stand to go to. And there are only three taxi lots for taxis to queue. If I can't get a lot, I have to move on, and I end up circling around, wasting fuel.'
Cabby Mr Andy Lam, 37, said that while taxi drivers have been issued with a list of taxi stands, he still does not know where most of the taxi stands are in the CBD area.
'I haven't explored them yet, and I only know the common ones around the Shenton Way and Robinson Road area,' he said.
'But most of them have only up to three lots, and are usually taken up, so I drive around keeping a lookout for taxi stands with people.'
Another frustration for cabbies is having to ignore potential passengers who wait for cabs along a stretch of road that has no taxi stand.
Mr Hong said: 'I feel the pinch when I have to give up a potential customer, especially when it is hard to get passengers these days.'
This new ruling comes just as the dust settles over complaints of fewer passengers following last December's taxi-fare increase.
Mr Hong said: 'The fare hike gave me a headache, now I feel even more frustrated.'
Mr Lam said that a few evenings ago, he decided to try his luck at one taxi stand at Amoy Street.
He couldn't get a single passenger.
He said: 'It's very tempting to pick up passengers when I see them along the road. But the penalty of a $100 fine and 3 demerit points prevent me from doing it.'
One taxi driver, Mr Robert Sim, 64, acknowledges the new rule has its benefits.
'It is good because it means safety for everyone, and taxis don't have to fight over passengers.'
But he still hopes the rule can be reviewed.
'If we cause no obstruction to oncoming traffic and it's safe to stop for the passenger, why can't we do so?' he questioned.
Mr Hong also hopes for some flexibility, especially after a run-in with some passengers.
He said: 'I was driving four male passengers who smelt of alcohol. They insisted I stop in front of a pub along Neil Road. It was 9.30pm and I tried to explain the new rule to them.
'They started scolding me loudly, saying they were paying me and I must let them alight wherever they want,' he recalled.
'In the end I gave in, I let them alight.'
'I was afraid to break the new rule, but I was more afraid of four drunk men,' he said.
COMMUTERS HIT AS WELL
The new rule isn't making taxi rides from the CBD attractive for some commuters either.
Miss Aida Mekonnen, 26, a public affairs associate working at Collyer Quay, said she used to hail a cab, especially when it rains, right outside her office building.
Now she has to walk to a taxi stand.
'It may be a short walk, but I will get wet. I would rather take the MRT because the route is completely sheltered,' she said.
Miss Adriana Tan, 29, a regional marketing manager, is also choosing to take the MRT.
'I don't like walking further and still having to pay more (with the higher taxi fares),' she said.
'Although I can get a cab easily at the taxi stands, it is only a mild attraction.
'I'll only take a cab these days if I have to carry heavy things,' she said.
Ms Tammy Tan, group corporate communications officer of taxi operator ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited, said the company has highlighted several problems that it anticipates will occur to the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
ComfortDelGro is the biggest taxi operator in Singapore, owning close to 15,000 cabs, which is 66 per cent of the cab population here.
Ms Tan said: 'These implementation issues include disagreements between customers and drivers with regards to stopping at taxi stands during rainy days, and picking up or dropping off the physically less abled.'
She said the company is also concerned with the issue of limited lots for taxis at taxi bays.
She added: 'We are working closely with the LTA and the associations with regards to these issues and seek the understanding of our passengers with regards to the need to board and alight at taxi stands.'
NEW RULE FOR CABS IN CBD CAUSES CONFUSION
PASSENGERS:WHERE ARE THE CABS?CABBIES:WHERE ARE THE PASSENGERS?
By Hedy Khoo
March 10, 2008
IT sounds like a good idea.
Taxi drivers can pick up and drop off passengers only at designated taxi stands in the Central Business District (CBD).
But in practice, this new rule that kicked in last Sunday has been giving cabbies and passengers the run-around.
Just ask taxi driver KC Soh, who kept a vigil at the taxi stand of One Fullerton.
His engine was running, it was the evening rush hour on a Tuesday, but no passenger was in sight.
Over at the nearby Battery Road taxi stand, a queue of least 11 passengers waited, hoping for cabs to come their way.
Mr Soh, 48, finally gave up after a half hour. 'I'm taking a booking instead.'
Apart from not being able to get passengers, the other big problem is space.
Most designated taxi stands in the CBD have between one and four waiting lots for taxis.
Taxis are not allowed to wait outside these yellow lots. So, cabbies have no choice but to drive on if they cannot join the queue.
Mr Hong Hong, 62, a taxi driver, said in Mandarin: 'I try to avoid the CBD. Going in there to pick up a passenger is like gambling.
'I get confused about which taxi stand to go to. And there are only three taxi lots for taxis to queue. If I can't get a lot, I have to move on, and I end up circling around, wasting fuel.'
Cabby Mr Andy Lam, 37, said that while taxi drivers have been issued with a list of taxi stands, he still does not know where most of the taxi stands are in the CBD area.
'I haven't explored them yet, and I only know the common ones around the Shenton Way and Robinson Road area,' he said.
'But most of them have only up to three lots, and are usually taken up, so I drive around keeping a lookout for taxi stands with people.'
Another frustration for cabbies is having to ignore potential passengers who wait for cabs along a stretch of road that has no taxi stand.
Mr Hong said: 'I feel the pinch when I have to give up a potential customer, especially when it is hard to get passengers these days.'
This new ruling comes just as the dust settles over complaints of fewer passengers following last December's taxi-fare increase.
Mr Hong said: 'The fare hike gave me a headache, now I feel even more frustrated.'
Mr Lam said that a few evenings ago, he decided to try his luck at one taxi stand at Amoy Street.
He couldn't get a single passenger.
He said: 'It's very tempting to pick up passengers when I see them along the road. But the penalty of a $100 fine and 3 demerit points prevent me from doing it.'
One taxi driver, Mr Robert Sim, 64, acknowledges the new rule has its benefits.
'It is good because it means safety for everyone, and taxis don't have to fight over passengers.'
But he still hopes the rule can be reviewed.
'If we cause no obstruction to oncoming traffic and it's safe to stop for the passenger, why can't we do so?' he questioned.
Mr Hong also hopes for some flexibility, especially after a run-in with some passengers.
He said: 'I was driving four male passengers who smelt of alcohol. They insisted I stop in front of a pub along Neil Road. It was 9.30pm and I tried to explain the new rule to them.
'They started scolding me loudly, saying they were paying me and I must let them alight wherever they want,' he recalled.
'In the end I gave in, I let them alight.'
'I was afraid to break the new rule, but I was more afraid of four drunk men,' he said.
COMMUTERS HIT AS WELL
The new rule isn't making taxi rides from the CBD attractive for some commuters either.
Miss Aida Mekonnen, 26, a public affairs associate working at Collyer Quay, said she used to hail a cab, especially when it rains, right outside her office building.
Now she has to walk to a taxi stand.
'It may be a short walk, but I will get wet. I would rather take the MRT because the route is completely sheltered,' she said.
Miss Adriana Tan, 29, a regional marketing manager, is also choosing to take the MRT.
'I don't like walking further and still having to pay more (with the higher taxi fares),' she said.
'Although I can get a cab easily at the taxi stands, it is only a mild attraction.
'I'll only take a cab these days if I have to carry heavy things,' she said.
Ms Tammy Tan, group corporate communications officer of taxi operator ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited, said the company has highlighted several problems that it anticipates will occur to the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
ComfortDelGro is the biggest taxi operator in Singapore, owning close to 15,000 cabs, which is 66 per cent of the cab population here.
Ms Tan said: 'These implementation issues include disagreements between customers and drivers with regards to stopping at taxi stands during rainy days, and picking up or dropping off the physically less abled.'
She said the company is also concerned with the issue of limited lots for taxis at taxi bays.
She added: 'We are working closely with the LTA and the associations with regards to these issues and seek the understanding of our passengers with regards to the need to board and alight at taxi stands.'
No comments:
Post a Comment