Five taxi operators lodge fare adjustments with PTC, following hikes by CDG announced 2 weeks ago

FIVE taxi operators have lodged fare increases with the Public Transport Council (PTC) and have intentions to raise fares in March 2022, a PTC spokesperson said.

This comes after ComfortDelGro (CDG) announced its first fare hike in a decade on Feb 8, 2022, explaining that it is "necessary to help cabbies defray higher operating costs resulting from rising fuel prices and inflation".

These taxi operators include Trans-Cab, Prime Taxi, Premier Taxi, Strides Taxi, as well as independent yellow-top taxi owners, PTC said in a media statement on Friday (Feb 25).

The council said it has noted the fare increase of the operators and reminded them to inform commuters about the new fares at least 7 days before it is implemented.

Trans-Cab took out a notice in The Business Times on Friday on its new fares, which would be effective Mar 8. The revised flag-down fare for standard taxis will be S$0.20 higher at S$4.10, while each uptick in metered charges will be S$0.02 more at S$0.24. Advanced booking fee will rise to S$8 from S$6.50.

Limousine taxis will not be charging a higher flag-down fare, but each uptick in metered charges will also go up by S$0.02 to S$0.35.

Taxi operators are required to inform PTC about fare hikes in advance to allow for better transparency and oversight, the spokesperson said.

Prime Taxi has plans to standardise its flag-down fares for basic taxis at S$4.10, up from S$3.60 and S$3.80, said Neo Nam Heng, the chairman of Prime Group, which owns Prime Taxi.

Prime Taxi metered charges will increase by 2 cents to S$0.24 for basic taxis and to S$0.35 for premium ones, Neo told The Business Times.

CDG's flag-down fares are estimated to be between S$3.90 and S$4.10 after the fare increase, from its current range of S$3.70 to S$3.90.

CDG's metered charges will increase by 2 cents to S$0.24 for normal taxis and 3 cents to S$0.33 for limousine taxis. All other fare tariffs will remain unchanged.