Fare hike .. the pinch.

Not many have read in detail about the taxi fare hike in Singapore as most of us would only see it in the headlines and won't think much about it or maybe you heard different variations of fare calculation at the coffeshop while having breakfast.

The papers covered them all - the good and bad of a fare hike. Today, I experienced it myself. The meter really jumped and jumping fast it was thus I decided to engage the friendly cab driver into a conversation.

It was a rather open conversation about what led to the fare hike and whether or not it was a good move especially for the hirers themselves. Were they making more than the usual? The answer was a positive no. The average loss of income was about 40% and that's a very significant figure.

Frankly speaking, I never bothered to read about the hike in fare even though it splashed on every medium available. I didn't think it would affect commuters that drastically but after learning more, it really did.

My first thought was if fares were so expensive, would anyone want to take cabs anymore? Wouldn't that mean commuters would be forced to seek alternatives like bus, MRT or even cycle? The last choice would surely be much welcome by the environmental activists but knowing spoilt Singaporeans as we are, we'll want a bus ride or train ride more than having to ride ourselves to work.

With everyone switching to bus and trains, wouldn't that mean an increase in profits for these transport companies? Its obvious isn't it? A higher percentage of public commuters will now take the bus and what I observed recently was that even the expatriate community or widely knows as Ang Mohs also took bus rides now, fighting for space on a bus.

I have a feeling that bus and train companies might also follow the steps in revising the prices of their services upwards. Its going to be a win-win situation for them but would that lead to fatter bonuses for bus captains and colleagues? I shall not comment on that but everyone is complaining that inflation is killing wallets yet salaries aren't being increased at all. Sad truth.

On the other hand, what will happen to the many cab drivers here in Singapore? Many will be left to give up their taxis due to rising costs and diminishing profits and thus will have to look for alternative livelihood and in a chain reaction, jobless rate will rise and economy starts to fumble a little bit.

Am not too sure if taxi companies are planning to come out with a rescue package for cab drivers to help subsidise their taxi rental or would they just leave them to work harder driving longer hours forcing them to cover their cost and depriving them of rest.

We all know driving is a tiring process if its for long hours and without proper rest, accidents will follow. Just look at the number of accidents caused by taxi drivers. Yes, some are reckless but some are just not concentrating on the road because they have no choice but to test their limits of physical and mental endurance to bring bread and butter home.

Have you ever looked at it from another point of view? The above might be true but let's ask ourselves if we as commuters are part of the reason why a fare hike was needed.

Can you remember how we often complain about the lack of taxis plying the streets of Singapore and how difficult it gets when trying to flag a taxi during peak hours. Taxi queues were long but taxis were no where to be seen thus someone should do something about it and wishes granted, we have so many empty taxis now on the roads but you now need to wish for something else - a pay increase every quarter of the year.