ST Forum:Service Should Improve Before Charges Are Increased

[Vulcann]

Yep thanks to this fare "revision", our doc here is now determined to get a car ASAP because of "unreliable" cab service...

 

If more folks are using this excuse than we just have to be contented with our little red dot being a giant car park during peak hours...

 

From ST Forum:

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/...ory_742416.html

 

REVISION IN TAXI FARES

Service should improve before charges are increased

Published on Dec 8, 2011

 

LET me cite my experience last week to illustrate the unjustified cab fare revisions initiated by ComfortDelGro without a preceding improvement in service standards ('Other taxi firms set to revise fares too'; yesterday).

 

Last Saturday, I tried to book a MaxiCab for five (four adults and a baby with a car seat) from ComfortDelGro.

 

It took 10 dropped calls and an hour to finally get an answer.

 

Having secured the first MaxiCab, we tried to book a return one, for which we were assured by ComfortDelGro that we would get an SMS confirmation.

 

We were very willing to pay the required advance booking fee of $16. We received the SMS for the first cab immediately, but it took three hours to receive a rejection for the second.

 

By then, we were in a rush to get to the airport as two people in our group had to catch their flight to Canada.

 

So we decided to book two normal cabs instead. However, we managed to secure only one after about half an hour of trying (via the iPhone app and calling) and received no reply on the second.

 

We even tried flagging ComfortDelGro cabs - to no avail.

 

The experience left us anxious and irritated. We were highly inconvenienced by the shoddy and unprofessional service.

 

Our Canadian guests could not understand why it was so difficult to book a taxi, whereas everything else seemed to work well in Singapore.

 

The fare revision makes no sense in the light of such poor service.

 

Cab operators should improve service or keep the fares low.

 

We understand that Singapore has more taxis than many other major cities, but the service is much poorer.

 

Now, we are even more determined to buy a car as soon as possible because we cannot continue being plagued by unreliable service.

 

Dr Karthik Kumar

[RadX]

and COE goes higher ....think i better keep my car...for th elong run

[KARTer]

many thanks to Delgro's disguised PrizFixing~~.?? DNS tUna sing!

[Bystander50]

The increase in fares is a cover for a large increase in taxi rental soon.

 

First give the taxi drivers a feel they will be earning more, then slap them with a rental increase, citing that "rentals have not increased for xx years and the increase will only eat into xx% of the hirer's takings". Almost all of Comfort's fleet of taxis had been converted to the Sonata and some of the hirers are still paying the old rental rate as the Crown.

 

Increasing fares are not going to improve services. The same reason is cited many times when fares are increase. This applies to other modes of public transport. On the other hand, I find that private bus transports do improve their services slightly when they up their charges. The ways to deal with disappearing cabs is to make the drivers earn less by removing certain surcharges or a later starting time, eg midnight charge starts from 2am instead of 12mn. This way, the drivers would be forced to ply the roads to get more income. By 2am, the number of people calling for cabs would be reduced. So even if they want to play the disappearing game, it does not matter much.

 

 

 

[Good-Carbuyer]

I believe to be the same as increase the MP/Ministers's pay first, and they do not want to work.

[Vulcann]

Dread [sweatdrop] the scenario listed in first article, agree with the second [nod] and like the last .

 

From ST Forum:

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/...ory_742415.html

 

REVISION IN TAXI FARES

 

Red herring?

 

Published on Dec 8, 2011

 

'There is the possibility that this is a precursor to increase charges for cabbies.'

 

MR KEVIN KWEK: 'There may indeed be good reasons to increase fares, such as to manage demand, but there is also the real possibility that this is merely a precursor to increase charges and levies for cabbies ('ComfortDelGro revises taxi fares'; Tuesday). The strategy seems to be to pass on higher charges to commuters, so that taxi drivers will not complain later when ComfortDelGro raises its levies to maintain or increase profit margins. Could this explain why cab drivers were not consulted?'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Uniform pricing

 

'If all taxi companies follow the fares set by the market leader, what is the point of more cab companies?'

 

MR LARRY LIM: 'The rationale for competition is hard to understand. It is all right when taxi and telecommunications firms charge the same prices for almost identical services. But when modelling agencies and transport firms operating coaches to Malaysia do so, it is price fixing or collusion and is deemed illegal. One might argue that taxi fare increases benefit the drivers, but wouldn't it be similar to modelling agencies charging higher rates across the board for their models, but charging the models a higher agency fee? If all taxi companies follow the fares set by the market leader, what is the point of having more cab companies? Have fares become more competitive with more taxi companies? Has the service standard improved?'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

In Hong Kong...

 

'Our longest wait for a cab? Five minutes.'

 

MR HENG NGEE HAI: 'In a period of 10 days we were holidaying in Hong Kong, our party of five, including my wife, our three-year-old daughter and my wife's parents, had no problem getting a cab to fit us all, anywhere, any time. Our longest wait for a cab? Five minutes. If Hong Kong transport agencies and operators can provide such efficient service, why can't Singapore?'

 

[Vulcann]

  On 12/7/2011 at 11:51 PM, RadX said:

and COE goes higher ....think i better keep my car...for th elong run

 

I also die die keeping my 5 yo BB car...

[Vulcann]

  On 12/8/2011 at 12:32 AM, Bystander50 said:

The increase in fares is a cover for a large increase in taxi rental soon.

 

You summed it pretty well in a nutshell

[David]

1)The writer needed a Maxicab, how many maxicabs are there in operations?

2)The taxi company has got many taxi(in the yard) but how many are rented out each day?

3)How many of us here are prepare to switch to taxi driving? How many are prepared to take the toll of taxi driving? How many are prepared to take the abuse from passengers(nvm we have been driving before)?

4)Ok so the writer wants to buy a car because of this incident, is he buying one as big as the Maxicab?

[Kangadrool]

In Sillypore, it's always increase the price first, then we will TRY to improve our services later.

[Tigerwoods]

I agree with her view points esp 1-Room also can have 3 kids.

What I don't agree is Age-De-Bee reduce the size should also reduce the PRICE

[Rayleigh]

  On 12/8/2011 at 1:15 AM, Kangadrool said:

In Sillypore, it's always increase the price first, then we will TRY to improve our services later.

 

Also, one of the reasons used was: the last revision was in year xxxxxx...... kaoz.....didn't know that is a valid reason also.

[Darthrevan]

everything here is for show..from retail to customer service

[Scb11980]

i truly cannot comprehend what our government is trying to do or up to

i think i failed my comprehension

 

first sometime back LHL mentioned make owning cars affordable, he then increased number of cars and etc

then more ERP, more ERP increases, more extended peak hours

 

the public transport system especially the MRT cannot really handle a sudden increase in ridership now

they then allow those who can afford taxi to switch to buses and MRT because of significant increase in taxi fare

 

 

all goes to show that ERP, COE and peak hours surcharge are all these donkey years JUST dont work

except taxing the public to death

[Pltang]

  On 12/8/2011 at 1:15 AM, Kangadrool said:

In Sillypore, it's always increase the price first, then we will TRY to improve our services later.

 

Is there even a TRY?

[Wt_know]

spore taxi fare still considered cheap compare with other asia cities like hk/tokyo/etc bla bla bla

but how come minister pays are not being compare?

Edited December 8, 2011 by Wt_know

[I-LOVE-CARS]

Blame here blame there lol, Comfort say Taxi driver ask them to increase one, what diesel price also increase and something latdat., boycott comfort taxis? and go for other company *Ie. Trans Cab, Prime Cab* they no increase YET rite? BTW what is our transport minister doing?

[Dirtbike]

羊毛出在羊身上