Cinderella syndrome

There were white ones, yellow ones and blue ones. Later this month there will be some red and green ones, too, and in March, silver will appear on the streets. These are the colours of the new cab companies which will soon be plying their trade on Singaporean roads, adding another 700 or so vehicles by the end of this year to the existing 19,100.

Taxi drivers may earn only S$1,500-2,000 (HK$6,800-9,100) a month after expenses and rentals, a salary many Singaporeans would snigger at, but there are still plenty of volunteers to take on the job, including some holding diplomas or university degrees, as well as former businessmen who have fallen on hard times.

Yet the taxi business has long been suffering from what Singaporeans kindly refer to as the 'Cinderella' syndrome: close to midnight, cabs disappear as their drivers wait for the 50 per cent surcharge levied after that time (and until 6am) to kick in. So, stranded customers will see plenty of cabs around displaying the 'busy' or 'on call' signs from 11.30pm onwards. Then, magically they appear for hire after midnight.

A similar effect appears in the business district area after office hours, when it is near impossible to catch a cab without booking, adding up to another S$5 to the fare. One company, citi-cabs, has come up with a solution - a four-tier, staggered late-night surcharge (to be implemented this month) starting at 11.30pm and which will add between 10 and 35 per cent until 1am, before reaching 50 per cent from 1am to 6am.

While the taxi operator means well, one does wonder whether the 'Cinderella' problem is just going to move to 11.30pm. The new fare structure also adds to an existing bugbear; the overabundance of surcharges. Meanwhile, there is a feeling that drivers are now seemingly being rewarded for their previous poor level of service.

While in Hong Kong, taxi companies have adopted a simple fare structure, in Singapore, commuters are faced with surcharges for peak hours, boarding in the central business district at certain hours, trips from the airport, midnight trips and booking fees.