SINGAPORE - At a time when sky-high Certificate of Entitlement (COE)
premiums are dissuading Singaporeans from owning car, they could,
ironically, find it more difficult to get taxis.
Previously, tales of taxi drivers who worked only a few hours a day,
earning just enough to cover rental and overheads, and use their
vehicles mostly for personal needs, were not uncommon.
But
these days, more people could possibly be getting taxi licences for the
wrong reasons - as suggested by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew in a
press interview published yesterday.
Noting how, with the
exception of those owned by ComfortDelGro, taxis are hired out mostly to
cabbies who drive a single shift per day, Mr Lui said the authorities
"need to be even more vigilant about this ... because now driving a taxi
can, with high COE prices, become a substitute for owning a car".
Taxi rentals here range between S$64 and S$116. And unlike car
owners, taxi drivers do not need to pay for servicing, insurance or road
tax.
Cabbie Eugene Kwok, 45, said he would not be
surprised if high COE prices prompted more people to hire a taxi instead
of buying a car.
Another cabbie, Mr Ismail, 47, told TODAY
he has heard of fellow taxi drivers who only drive "part time" to
recover costs - high COEs or not.
As a result, commuters
suffer: To maximise their earnings in the shortest period of time, these
taxi drivers would only pick up passengers at places with surcharges
such as the airport or the integrated resorts, or customers on short
trips within the Central Business District during peak hours, Mr Ismail
said.
He added: "It is the freedom of being able to plan our own schedules that appeals most to cabbies."
Availability of taxis to be improved
Following constant public feedback about the difficulties in
getting a cab, a tripartite workgroup - comprising the Land Transport
Authority, the National Taxi Association (NTA) and the taxi operators -
has been formed to improve availability of taxis on the roads, NTA
adviser Seng Han Thong told reporters yesterday.
It is
looking into ways to incentivise more drivers to utilise their taxis
fully, said Mr Seng, who was speaking at the sidelines of an event to
launch a book about cabbies' experiences.
According to Mr
Seng, about 40 per cent of the 27,000 taxis here are "one-man
operations". Mr Seng would not be drawn on the possibility of the high
COEs leading to more taxi drivers using their vehicles as personal
transport. "As far as I know, they are earning a living," Mr Seng said.
Still, there is feedback from taxi drivers that it is difficult to
find suitable relief drivers, in order to utilise the taxis for two
shifts a day. To address this, a nationwide data sharing system will be
set up to better match drivers, Mr Seng said. The workgroup is working
on the technical details, said Mr Seng, who did not say when the system
will be ready.
When contacted, ComfortDelGro spokesperson
Tammy Tan said: "We do, of course, encourage our drivers to utilise the
vehicle to its maximum potential".
She reiterated that it
is the drivers' prerogative how to utilise their vehicles, "especially
since they may well end up out of pocket if they choose not to ply the
road for fares for a large part of the day". About 80 per cent of
ComfortDelGro's 16,000-strong fleet of taxis operate on double shifts,
Ms Tan said.
SMRT Taxis director Tony Heng said that his
company - which owns about 3,200 taxis - consider its cabbies "to be
self-employed". "Thus, it is in their best interest to put their taxis
to optimum economic use," he said.
Mountbatten Member of
Parliament Lim Biow Chuan - who sits on the Government Parliamentary
Committee (GPC) for transport - felt the issue is a grey area: If a taxi
driver needs to, for example, drive his wife somewhere, it is "only
logical" that he uses his vehicle to do so, he noted.
Mr
Lim suggested that taxi operators track the usage of taxis based on the
mileage or the fares collected. "The taxi companies could charge the
drivers based on the desired mileage. If the taxi is used more, they
could be charged a lower rental," said Mr Lim.
PS:
The most simple solution is to have taxi in a stand alone category.
Cabbies need to rest too.
Vehicles need to rest too.
Taxi companies will preferred less wear & tear to the vehicles.
