30% drop in taxi fare cheats but numbers remain high

SINGAPORE — The number of taxi fare cheats referred to the authorities remained high, even though the first half of the year saw a close to 30 per cent drop in the number of cases when compared to the same period last year.

Taxi companies referred 23 cases to the Public Transport Council (PTC) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) in the first six months of the year, after fares remained unpaid even though the operators had written to the passengers.

The number this year is down from the 32 cases referred to the authorities during the same period last year, but is almost six times more than the four cases referred to the PTC and the LTA in the first six months of 2011.

Currently, taxi companies have to help their drivers recover unpaid fares by writing to the passengers, if their identities are known. The companies can refer the cases to the LTA and the PTC if the fares are still not paid after they have written to the passengers. However, many of the fare cheats flee from the cabs once they arrive at their destination, leaving cabbies with little recourse.

Cabbie Ee H H, who has been driving for more than 10 years, said he has encountered four fare cheats this year.

The 59-year-old’s most recent encounter happened about two weeks ago when a couple he picked up from popular nightclub Zouk did not pay the S$28 fare.

They promised to settle the fare by credit card, but before the payment could be made, the male passenger snatched the credit card from Mr Ee and the couple ran out of the cab.

The cabbie, who reported the latest incident to the authorities and his company after he found the passenger’s credit card bill in his taxi, said he had not received an update on the case since.

To remind commuters that fare evasion is against the law, ComfortDelGro, the largest taxi operator here, put up decals in its fleet of 16,000 taxis last December. This has helped bring down the number of cases by about 20 per cent in the first six months of this year, said the company’s spokeswoman Tammy Tan, who did not reveal the exact number of cases.

Other taxi operators contacted, like SMRT and Premier, were also tight-lipped about the number of fare cheat cases their cabbies had encountered.

Last year, 68 cases were referred to the authorities, a slight drop from 70 in 2011, but a rise from the four cases in 2010.

Based on feedback he has gathered, National Taxi Association adviser Ang Hin Kee said cabbies often face a dilemma as culprits they have encountered are usually “young teenagers”. “They (cabbies) are quite sure that even if these guys get caught, they don’t really want to prosecute them unless they are recalcitrant ones,” the Member of Parliament added.

When asked if the penalties for fare cheats should be increased, Mr Ang felt that the authorities should pursue cases where the culprit’s identity is known.

“The existing penalty serves an adequate reminder. The question is, are you prosecuting vigorously enough?” he said.