My heart went out to those errant cabbies. They were just a  small group of people trying to earn more to feed themselves and their families at the end of the day. But for that few bucks, they tarnished the Republic’s 23,000 cab drivers effort to improve the industry’s image.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) took action after following complaints about errant cab drivers who pick and chose passengers, refuse to use the meter or overcharging passengers. With tourist at it’s peak, many were concern that errant drivers will tarnish Singapore image as a top class tourist destination.

LTA then conducted its biggest operation to catch errant cab drivers from Oct 24 – 27. In 4 days, 41 errant cabbies are caught. Between January – September this year, 287 errant cab drivers were penalized up from last year’s 202.

Popular spots like Boat Quay, Clark Quay and Orchard Towers are targeted for the operation. 22 were caught for touting,  11 for refusing to pick up passengers and 8 for over charging.

I knew of cases where taxi drivers were touting but not to such extent. 22 caught in 4 days! That was unbelievable. At least 5 cases per day and only 3 popular spots were targeted. How many more errant drivers were still undiscovered by the authorities? 

This was the most interesting complaint I had read so far.

I AM disappointed with the service at the Changi Airport limo service counter on Oct 19 at 11.30pm. As it was peak hour late on a Friday night, with a long queue at the usual taxi lanes, we decided to take the limo service. This was not the first time we had used the limo service, but we were shocked to be told by not one, but three limo drivers that they do not take passengers except to the town area. Their attitude was unwarranted when they heard we were heading to Jurong. One even asked us to pay a higher fare.

As a frequent traveller, it occurred to me previously but I didn’t think much of it as I thought it meant $35 for any destination in the town area. But when I checked the sign at the counter, I realized this wasn’t the case as the sign clearly indicated ‘$35 for any destination in Singapore’.

A further check online reveals: ‘Limo Transfer Service to any destination in Singapore from Changi Airport arrival hall located at Terminals 1 and 2 (available 24 hours daily) to be at $35, with a possible flat $12 midnight surcharge, $10 surcharge for every additional stop and prevailing administration fee for credit and charge card payments are applicable. All other surcharges such as ERP, holiday surcharge and peak period will be waived.’

I am a Singaporean and had always been proud of our public transport services, but this incident reflects badly on us. And, I personally witnessed the same ordeal some foreigners had to go through that Friday night.

With the recent incidents of taxi drivers touting in Singapore, shouldn’t the authority look into the airport limo service? This is especially important as they may be the first Singaporean’s to welcome foreigners to Singapore. They can either make or break a vacation for our visitors.

After the complaint was published on ST Forum, Ms Kuek Chor Ling from SMRT Corporation Ltd replied.

I REFER to the letter, ‘Airport limos will go only to town area’ (ST, Oct 29), by Mr Chia Soon Peng.

We have since contacted Mr Chia to apologize for the unpleasant encounter and convey the disciplinary action taken against our taxi driver who was among the three drivers he spoke to.

We thank Mr Chia for bringing the matter to our attention, and would like to encourage passengers who encounter similar situations to report the matter by contacting our hotline on 6555- 8888.

Kuek Chor Ling (Ms)
Manager, Corporate Marketing and Communications
SMRT Corporation Ltd

So what kind of disciplinary action was taken? Was it a verbal warning or revoke of their vocational driving licence? Is it worth all that just for a few extra bucks?