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Simplify fare system by waiving ERP charges for vacant taxis

I wish to respond, from a cabby’s viewpoint, to the letters “GPS in taxis, dynamic pricing are not new”, “Explain reasons behind complicated fare system” (both Oct 21) as well as others written from the commuter’s angle.

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Stephen Lee Su Chai

I wish to respond, from a cabby’s viewpoint, to the letters “GPS in taxis, dynamic pricing are not new”, “Explain reasons behind complicated fare system” (both Oct 21) as well as others written from the commuter’s angle.

The current fare system is, indeed, too complicated, even for cabbies; at times, we may even forget to add the relevant surcharge to the meter fare.

The underlying rationale for allowing surcharges, though, must be understood: These are incentives to pick up passengers at locations deemed not economically attractive to cabbies.

Take, for example, the Central Business District (CBD) peak-hour surcharge. Drivers of vacant cabs must bear Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges if they enter the CBD to ply for passengers. Would a cabby pay for ERP when he can easily pick up passengers without incurring such a charge outside the CBD?

There is no financial gain even with the surcharge, as the ERP charge must be offset. Likewise for the surcharges at our airport and the Marina Bay Cruise Centre, as cabbies must incur extra mileage to drive to these locations, not forgetting the time spent queueing. Cabbies are not doing National Service but making a hard-earned living. It is only human that one would not make a special effort to queue at such places unless there is an incentive.

A simple solution is to waive ERP charges for vacant taxis. Then, the CBD and Marina Bay Sands surcharges can be removed. Such a waiver would also improve the flow between housing estates, as many drivers are reluctant to ply vacant taxis past ERP gantries, thus constricting taxi availability in some areas now.

As for dynamic pricing, I doubt that petrol pricing is a good model. Prices rise when the crude-oil price rises, but there is always a delay in price revision when the crude-oil price falls. Also, fuel retailers here behave like a cartel. A price change by one brand would be matched similarly by others.

Still, I would support a responsive pricing for cab services to improve and regulate abnormalities in the present state of supply and demand.

To minimise conflicts, all surcharges and fares should automatically be metered and not entered manually by the driver, as practised now.

My only worry is that a dynamic fare system may burden the needy and the elderly, many of whom may not be able to easily understand and juggle the fluctuating prices to optimise their spending.

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