Taxi Touting in Singapore. Tourists Beware

It is my civil duty to educate foreign readers on the increased cases of taxi toutings in Singapore. I have never met an unethical cabby before and hence, I was fuming mad at the article, "Money talks, so cabbies keep touting" (ST, 21 Oct). Atlhough there are female cabbies on the roads nowaday, the cabbies whom The Sunday Times exposed are all males.

I never have the luck to meet these rouge cabbies, or else I will not hesitate to lecture them before reporting to the Land Transport Authority (LTA). They wouldn't target me primarily because I don't look like a tourist to them. I assure you these cabbies can tell whether you can be conned or not. After all, they are the bua-ya* on four wheels driving around (not everywhere) to prey on tourists or vulnerable passengers such as the drunkened. Notice that I deliberately bracket 'not everywhere' because they only drive to pick up areas that are lucrative. This is, however, not the issue that pissed me off. As long as they charge fair prices to passengers, they are free to choose where they wanna be.

It was reported that one cabby charged the Sunday Times team SGD25 to go from Clarke Quay to HarbourFront, a SGD6 trip normally. Some crafty cabbies were unrepentant and boasted that they could easily charge ignorant tourists between SGD50 to SGD100 per trip. SHAME ON THEM! By quoting a flat rate and not by the meter, cabbies are able to recover their taxi rentals and diesel costs for the day in fewer trips i.e. they can now take home a fatter monthly earning. Good for them. But having more money by ripping off tourists is both unprofessional and harmful to the image of Singapore.

I had encountered taxi toutings in Johor Bahru (JB), Bangkok and even at Heathrow Airport, London. I remember the incident at JB when a cabby quoted me an exorbitant fare. I board the cab nevertheless as I was trapped in a heavy downpour without an umbrella. I did not return to JB again. Although taxi toutings are common in most countries, including HongKong, Taipei, China and New York, such occurrences in Singapore are shocking to me. Cabbies caught touting or overcharging in Singapore can be fined up to SGD500 and suspended, or terminated if they get enough demerit points. How could a generally law-abiding population flaunts the laws in a country where citizens are tammed to just follow laws? The flag-down fare was increased by SGD0.10 to SGD2.50 (inclusive of 1st km or less) in July 2006. Many grumbled about the fare hike but I still see long queues at taxi stands. So are cabbies just greedy or the crowded taxi stands were illusions?

Policing by the LTA inspectors alone will not curb touting activities because the veteran cabbies will play hide-and-seek with them. LTA can consider the following suggestions:

• Educate family members of cabbies on ethical driving through Taxi Operators' Association;


• Increase awareness of taxi toutings to tourists at the airports and tourist information counters;


• Terminate licences of cabbies guilty of touting and barred them from driving for other taxi companies

With the above measures in place, the co-operation of the passengers can then facilitate the effectiveness of stamping down on taxi touting in Singapore. As a rule of thumb, report all toutings to LTA. As a tourist, you could help us build a friendlier holiday destination; as a citizen, please help to protect Singapore's image as a tourist-friendly country. If taxi toutings on the streets are not eradicated, these money-faced cabbies are going to make their presence more visible at Changi Airport (Hopefully, there aren't any there now).

My last advice to tourists: always ensure that the taxi meters are on. Know what are the standard fares. Do your math. If you suspect that you have been conned, ask for a taxi receipt when you pay. With that receipt, report to LTA. Dont let these drivers take you for a ride just because you are a tourist. Don't let them cheat the money that you could use to buy something else with. You're on a holiday.

* bua-ya - a Malay word to mean crocodile. In this context, it refers to people who prey on others.