High cost and poor standard of taxi service

There are two letters in the Straits Times Forum about the poor standard of taxi service in Singapore. Taxis are not available on rainy days to pick up passengers at taxi stands or on the road, but they become available on taxi calls,where a large surcharge had to be paid. Commuters have been asking the authority to act against errant taxi drivers.

This type of complaints had been aired on countless occasions in past years. Nothing has been done to address this situation. It is not possible to rein in the errant taxi drivers, who have their own side of the story to tell. They have to pay high taxi rental fees and need the surcharge to make a living.

This is Singapore! Everyone is in the business of ripping off the consumers to make the extra buck. This is why citizens are complaining about the high cost of living in Singapore. And this is possible in the pro-business culture   that is being encouraged by our government of the day.

What can be done to improve our taxi service? I have written a letter to the Straits Times. I hope that they publish it.

Tan Kin Lian