$9.50 even before the taxi starts moving

Taxi operator ComfortDelgro announced today that it will raise taxi fares from next Monday (10th July).

The three main adjustments for Comfort, CityCab and Yellow-Top taxis are:

* Increase of flag-down fare to $2.50 (from $2.40).
* Increase surcharge for morning and evening peak hours (Mon-Fri: 7am to 9.30am/ Mon-Sat: 5pm to 8pm) to $2 (from $1).
* Adjust time and distance formula upwards: Trips less than 10 km will be charged at $0.10 for every 210m travelled (compared to 225 m now); For trips above 10 km, the charge will be $0.10 per 175m (compared to 200m now).

Now that the biggest taxi operators have made its move, others are likely to follow suit soon.

And it seems like very soon, only the rich can afford to take taxis.

Suppose it is 5pm on a Friday, you are in a rush to get out of the CBD area. You try to flag a cab but there are none in sight.

Desperate, you decide to book a cab.

Beware.

The moment the taxi arrives and you board it, even before the taxi moves off, you would have to pay sum of $9.50.

What? $9.50? Unbelievable, isn't it?

Here's how the mathematics goes.

Book a cab: $4
City Area surcharge: $1
Flag down- charge: $2.50
Peak Hour surchage: $2
=======================
Total : $9.50

And that excludes the possible ERP charges.

Of course, this is one of the extreme cases that can take place. Nevertheless, even without the booking fees and the City Area surcharges, with the taxi fare hike, one can be expected to pay at least $4.50 upfront when you take a cab during the peak hours.

Imagine that! $4.50 is enough to pay for a meal, and $9.50 is enough to feed one for a day!

I am not a regular taxi passenger so the fare hike does not affect me too adversely, but it is scary just thinking about the high cab fares.

For those who depend on taxis frequently, it would definitely add a bigger burden on them. But would they boycott taxis due of the increase in fare? Unlikely. No doubt cab companies would lose some customers, especially in the beginning, but the bulk lot of customers would still be there, no matter what. There is no way people can simply walk to reach their destinations, especially in a rush.

It is sad that people can do nothing to dispute the fare hikes. And no matter how the transport operators play the market, we can only end up being seeds on the chessboard.

Luckily for me, there is still the MRT.

But it seems like the MRT and bus fares are going to go up following the increase in the taxi charges. Sigh. What to do?