Are You Paying for unneccessary Comfort ?

*** Disclaimer -- This entry represents the personal view of the blogger. Views & comments are based on web research , personal experiences & conversations with NUMEROUS Taxi drivers & deductions were made based on personal analysis & thoughts. ***

Was taking a cab back home ... when I noticed a new Hyundai Sonata Taxi in the familiar colours of a big blue blue market player .....

It was new & fresh out of the Garage ... Everything was spanking new ... Abit Too new for my comfort ..( pun intended ) ..

What caused more DISCOMFORT ... was the starting fare of $2.70 !! I was dumbfounded !! Didnt THEY take lead in Increasing our Cab Fares to $2.50 recently ?? Why was this NEW Hyundai Sonata Cab charging $2.70 ??


Uncle kindly "enlightened" me on a few issues :

*** 1. They are allegedly ( Allegations remain assertions without proof, only claims until they are proved. ) going to slowly phrase out all the $2.50 Toyota Crowns ... slowly increasing the supply of $2.70 Cabs .. subtlely increasing the fare again !!

( If Uncle is right , We should observe more Blue Hyundais on the roads , and lesser Toyota Crowns on the roads .. Uncle Says lesser $2.50 = more $2.70 , simple logic. ) They currently have more than 15,300 cabs from 3 companies plying the roads .

*** 2 . Uncle & another few uncles also allegedly claimed that prior to the $2.50 Fare increment .. they all gathered and an Intention to rise cabfares was announced , and they were asked to vote . Results was that majority of the cab uncles objected to a fare increment ... and they were told to go back ... And Soon the $2.50 adjustment was announced on the news .

IF IF IF IF , I Said IF this voting session indeed took place ... what was the use of asking the cabbies to vote when they were GOING AHEAD anyway ??

*** 3. Mercedes Cabs are allegedly also gonna increase their prices from $2.80 to $3.00++ ... So whats the reason for increment since there are No further improved features to the mercs ??

*** 4. Uncle said COE prices have dropped , and it was cheaper to buy cars ... So He thinks that they bought more cars with options to buy more ... And with the slowly but sure increase in $2.70 Hyundais .. the Toyota Crowns are sure to go !! And the Rental prices of the NEW HYUNDAIs have increased to $99.75 , compared to the $92 for the Toyota Crowns ..

*** 5 . They Allegedly have lots of cars for rental , but not enough drivers to go around . There were rumours of engaging foreign talent for the job ( Rumours yet to be confirmed.. Readers Please take the rumours with a pinch of Salt ) ...

The media release cited the New Hyundais as being more Environmentally-Friendly , will have more boot space & Leg Room for passengers ..

Personally , I am surprised @ the reasons for the change . Are the Toyota Crowns very cramped ? I personally think they are much more spacious than the previous cabs ( forgot the model ) that we had . Boot Space ?? How often do we need to utilise the boot ? Ok , lets remember our very important tourists from all over the world ...

Environmentally Friendly cabs we enjoy .. but where are the 5 Year Old Toyota Crowns Gonna Go ?? 3rd World country ?? Can the 3rd world countries be bothered to maintain the cabs on a regular basis , unlike our cab companies who have nice maintenance workshops ? So are we gonna enjoy Fresh air in SG , while other countries can just be less environmentally friendly ?

If the Toyota Crowns do not go to 3rd world countries , I can only think of alternative place : Scrapyard .. to Scrap the Cars . So to be more environmentally Friendly , Are we gonna Scrap cars that is only 5 years old and generally well-maintained ?? Is

I took the effort to check their media release corner to check for updates on the new $2.70 Increase .... I only saw their media release on Fare adjustment to $2.50 ... but no fare increment to $2.70 for their new cabs .

I cant help getting a feeling that they wanna keep the $2.70 increment a hush-hush , saying its only for the new Cars .. but It is obvious they will start scrapping all the Toyota Crowns and Nissan Cedrics over time ( since their intention is CLEAR to make all their cabs under 3 years old ) .. So OVER TIME , we will have all cabs charging @ $2.70 ... without the public making a big fuss like the $2.50 adjustment !!??

This low-profile replacement of cheaper & older cabs Seems like a smart & calculated move , to reduce the Public Relations Damage in the face of 2 Fare increments over 5 months , and will surely increase Company profits ( Low COE price , higher Rental charges )

In my own opinion , Good Service from a friendly taxi-driver driving a Toyota Crown definitely beats a new fancy cab that charges more $$ , yet offering more or less visibly the same features as a good old Crown ..

XiaoMaGe Signing out ...

*** Disclaimer -- This entry represents the personal view of the blogger. Views & comments are based on web research , personal experiences & conversations with NUMEROUS Taxi drivers & deductions were made based on personal analysis & thoughts. ***