Another surcharge?!? Fuel surcharge for cab rides?
By ahgong
@ahgong (10064)
Singapore
July 22, 2008 4:03am CST
I had an idea that they were discussing about implementing the fuel surcharge for taxis. I never thought that they would implement it!
I was surprised to have to pay for an extra $0.30 charge for the ride.
After asking the cab driver did I realized it was a fuel surcharge.
We already have a slew of surcharges for the cab ride.
There is the peak hour surcharge, the ERP surcharge, the midnight charge, the booking charge, the city surcharge, the airport surcharge... now this!
Sigh... 
And the worst part of this is that the company is gloating about customers not complaining much about the surcharge.
Think about it this way. The company that implemented the surcharge owns almost 80-90% of the taxis on the road. When one flags down a cab, 9 out of the 10 cabs that stop are from this company. When one is in a hurry to travel, will you have passed an empty cab to try for the remainder 10% cabs just to avoid the $0.30 charge?
To think that they are patting their backs for the successful implementation of the surcharge is a joke! Duh~~~ it is like strong arming someone into something and congratulating oneself for the good work done at forcing this onto that someone. 
What would you have done?
Would you have just paid the $0.30 and grumble under your breath?
Or
Would you wave this cab by and try to get one of the 10% other cab that ply the roads?
And the worst part of this is that the company is gloating about customers not complaining much about the surcharge.
Think about it this way. The company that implemented the surcharge owns almost 80-90% of the taxis on the road. When one flags down a cab, 9 out of the 10 cabs that stop are from this company. When one is in a hurry to travel, will you have passed an empty cab to try for the remainder 10% cabs just to avoid the $0.30 charge?
To think that they are patting their backs for the successful implementation of the surcharge is a joke! Duh~~~ it is like strong arming someone into something and congratulating oneself for the good work done at forcing this onto that someone.
What would you have done?
Would you have just paid the $0.30 and grumble under your breath?
Or
Would you wave this cab by and try to get one of the 10% other cab that ply the roads?1 person likes this
6 responses
@poohgal (6845)
• Singapore
23 Jul 08
ERP= every road pays 
When prices go up, they charge us Surcharges!! When prices go down, I do not see them giving us rebates!!
Ever since the taxi fares went up last year, I hardly take taxis. Even if I do take, it's during off-peak hours.
During peak hours, it's actually slower to take taxis. Despite the NUMEROUS ERPs we have, many roads are jammed. It's actually faster to travel by train (very crowded though).
When prices go up, they charge us Surcharges!! When prices go down, I do not see them giving us rebates!!
Ever since the taxi fares went up last year, I hardly take taxis. Even if I do take, it's during off-peak hours.
During peak hours, it's actually slower to take taxis. Despite the NUMEROUS ERPs we have, many roads are jammed. It's actually faster to travel by train (very crowded though). 2 people like this
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
23 Jul 08
thankfully i don't take taxi all that often. i rely on the BMW mode of transport. it's so much faster given where i live. if i take the MRT home, it'll take me a whole 40 minutes to reach home from office. but if i were to travel by car, it'll take almost an hour and countless ERP gantries during peak hours. when i need to take a cab, i guess the cost will be the last thing on my mind. afterall, shouldn't taxi be a luxurious mode of transport? i guess i truly believe in the free market. if people are really unhappy about it, they will boycott taxis. when enough people boycotting taxis, the companies will realise this move is folly. just like petrol companies, they have been rising pump prices like nobody's business. then it hit them that less sales are being made as motorists just give up on driving. so they realise they will have to reduce the pump price to get back the sales. 
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
23 Jul 08
You are talking about Singapore leh. Where got such thing as boycott wants?
Before you can even plan a boycott, you be arrested already!
Not to mentioned, boycott taxis? People would rather pay than be inconvenience by the lack of that particular service.
I remember when people were grumbling about the expensive increment in the price of electricity. Do you think people will really switch to candles to boycott the power company?
Or how bout the grumbles about public transport cost. Will they all walk to work or take leave and skip traveling altogether just to make a statement?
IMHO, it is impossible that Singaporeans will boycott anything. They will just suck their thumb harder and swallow the increases in their stride.
1 person likes this
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
23 Jul 08
boycott not against the law lah. won't get arrested one loh. i believe in consumer power. if enough people will just suffer the inconvenience for a while. that is enough to force the taxi companies remove the surcharges. i do boycott certain companies and their products. i also tell as many family and friends about my bad experience. i believe that if enough people stop buying from them, they will come to their senses. ;p
1 person likes this
@naka75 (795)
• Singapore
22 Jul 08
I guess it'd be difficult to reject the cab and wait for cabs belonging to remaining 10% that don't implement the surcharge. Because in the first place when we need a cab, we are probably in a rush for time and if $0.30 can buy some time, we still have to bear it. What if another cab that comes along also from the same company (since it's 9 out of 10). So I think the best is not to take cab unless necessary.
@squaretile (3778)
• Singapore
22 Jul 08
sigh - this is another cost that is added and singaporeans will just accept it. our CASE is really lousy and has no real teeth.
another thing that I'm quite upset about is the time when the bakerys all increased their prices cos the price of wheat went up.my local bakery even had a chinese newspaper article pasted up on their wall stating that the price of wheat had increased.
then a month or so later, the price of wheat dropped back down. and did they reduce their price? no! prices are always sticky downwards. so all stuck and people just don't complain. i had a good mind to cut out the price decrease article and stick it on the bakery. after all the article that is still on their wall is outdated!
the thing about cabs is, no matter how much surcharge they levy, it's still much cheaper than owning your own car in this crazy place they call singapore.
I'm just glad i live 5 mins away from an mrt station and still don't need to buy a car.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
23 Jul 08
I guess newton is proven wrong.
There are things that goes up, but never comes down.
It is sad that we are being exploited this way. And there is no redress to it.
Take for example, the fuel surcharge. Or even the fuel hikes. Prices of Oil has dropped three times in the past weeks. Yet no adjustments are being announce of adjusting the prices of the cost of petrol or gas downwards.
Neither is there any news to reduce the tariffs for electricity either.
But when they increase, it is justified.
Sigh... a vicious cycle of increases with no end in sight!
1 person likes this
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
23 Jul 08
yeah.. This surcharge came abit too late when the oil prices start to drop and then all the cab companies decide to charge for the fuel surcharge.. ANd if they are charging for fuel surcharge, then y in the 1st place they wanna rise the flag down rate, increasing it from 2.40 to 2.80??
And also, in city area, have to charge additional $3, plus peak hr, another 35%, and from airport, another $3.. It's way too much, and recently my fren took a cab from the airport, and the fare was almost $30!!
It's just way way too much..
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
25 Jul 08
You are also not alone in the griping of fuel charges either.
In fact, with petrol prices slashed 4 times in the past weeks, I am wondering if this fuel surcharge will be removed.
I wonder what they are going to come up with if the price of fuel increases again after all the price drops.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
22 Aug 08
I too agree with you.
There is no such thing as removal once they get the approval to increase the prices
Darn blood suckers are always like that!
Sigh... cannot live with them. Cannot live without them as well.
Certain places you just have to take a cab. Cannot imagine trying to get up a bus and then walk to the destination at times. Cos when you have got too many stuff to carry, it is just not feasible to take a bus! Or a train for that matter.
And if you do one too many transfer, and if you are not alone, sometimes the bus fares and the train fares will add up to more than what you would have paid if you take a cab.
So, either way, we are strong arm into accepting the charges.
1 person likes this
@buzzmehere (743)
• Singapore
25 Jul 08
oh my god, i dunno now when u get into the taxi u got to take all of these into considerations, erp, peak hour and this 30 cent extra. i see tht ofcourse taxi is the best to go somewhere very fast, but then all these extra charges make it so expensive tht sometimes v dont mind taking the bus and trains. but sometimes i also think abt the oil price hike. but then i duno wht to say. 30 cents ofcourse is not a big deal still they shud not be doing this. esp the erp rates are somtimes too high
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
25 Jul 08
Well, having to pay all that extra charges, I am careful when and where I get up the cab.
But there are times when one cannot totally escape from taking a cab. Especially if one is sick and needs to go visit a doctor in a jiffy to get treatment.
I guess when one has no choice, he would have to take the pinch with some salt and get it over and done with. Pay for the extras and get the chore or task at hand done. 
