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Taxi fare increased quite significantly recently. They say it's to help the taxi drivers earn more. But I see longer queues at taxi stands nowadays. And it's much easier to flag a taxi now. I hear a lot of friends telling me they are now less willing to take taxis than before. So is it really good for the taxi drivers? I was told Comfort claimed that 90% of their drivers earn more than before the hike. I wonder if this has anything to do with the price hike happening at around the Christmas season. A friend told me that there's 1 night where he took a taxi at 12mn. The driver told him that he's supposed to be driving the morning shift, ending work at 5pm. But as the earning is not enough, he has to do OT.
Anyway, the link above is to a article that say sales of cars has increased since the price hike. There are people who claimed that their monthly taxi costs is now > $300. And the installments for a cheap car is about $300+ monthly. I thought it's a silly thing to do. Not that I am against buying cars, but it seems like the wrong reason to buy a car. The parking fees, the petrol costs and the ERP will about double the amount to maintain the car every month. And the car is likely a 10 year loan. A 10 year commitment. And the ERP cost is likely to increase. There is also going to be more ERP gantries. Petrol cost is ever rising. Parking fees should also rise if everything else rises. 1 year later, they may find that taking taxis is going to be the cheaper alternatives again, but this time, with the non-existent 2nd hand car market, they can't switch to taking taxis.
Another reason they give is that the convenience of the car is worth the extra they have to pay now. The place where they take taxis are quite difficult as not many taxis go there. Wait till they they pay thru their nose for the parking fees, or not able to find parking lots at all. In the end, they have to park far away and walk over.
In the end, my conclusion is that these people had long wanted to get a car. The taxi price hike is just a convenient excuse for them.
Taxi fare increased quite significantly recently. They say it's to help the taxi drivers earn more. But I see longer queues at taxi stands nowadays. And it's much easier to flag a taxi now. I hear a lot of friends telling me they are now less willing to take taxis than before. So is it really good for the taxi drivers? I was told Comfort claimed that 90% of their drivers earn more than before the hike. I wonder if this has anything to do with the price hike happening at around the Christmas season. A friend told me that there's 1 night where he took a taxi at 12mn. The driver told him that he's supposed to be driving the morning shift, ending work at 5pm. But as the earning is not enough, he has to do OT.
Anyway, the link above is to a article that say sales of cars has increased since the price hike. There are people who claimed that their monthly taxi costs is now > $300. And the installments for a cheap car is about $300+ monthly. I thought it's a silly thing to do. Not that I am against buying cars, but it seems like the wrong reason to buy a car. The parking fees, the petrol costs and the ERP will about double the amount to maintain the car every month. And the car is likely a 10 year loan. A 10 year commitment. And the ERP cost is likely to increase. There is also going to be more ERP gantries. Petrol cost is ever rising. Parking fees should also rise if everything else rises. 1 year later, they may find that taking taxis is going to be the cheaper alternatives again, but this time, with the non-existent 2nd hand car market, they can't switch to taking taxis.
Another reason they give is that the convenience of the car is worth the extra they have to pay now. The place where they take taxis are quite difficult as not many taxis go there. Wait till they they pay thru their nose for the parking fees, or not able to find parking lots at all. In the end, they have to park far away and walk over.
In the end, my conclusion is that these people had long wanted to get a car. The taxi price hike is just a convenient excuse for them.
1/22/2008 10:33:00 AM
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that breakdown that happened 3 days ago from tampines to tanah merah and the delay on NE line in the morning 2 days ago seems to be a consipracy theory. A lot of pple are forced to take cab that day.Maybe the survey was conducted then. :-)
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