Extra charge to defray higher cost of diesel, says ComfortDelGro 

 MOST cab rides will cost 30 cents more from next Thursday, after Singapore's largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro yesterday announced its decision to levy a fuel surcharge on all trips.
The first of its kind for the cab industry, the flat rate payable regardless of the distance travelled comes just months after fares went up in December.

Most of the other cab companies are expected to follow the lead of ComfortDelGro, which owns Comfort and CityCab taxis. The industry giant was reported three weeks ago by The Sunday Times to be considering such a move.

ComfortDelGro said yesterday the surcharge is to help cabbies mitigate the unrelenting rise in fuel prices.

It noted that diesel pump prices have risen by more than 50 per cent in the last six months alone - to about $1.83 a litre after discount.

Mr Yang Ban Seng, chief executive of ComfortDelGro's taxi business, said: 'In the past six months, we have been absorbing a large part of the increase in diesel costs.'

He pointed out that cabbies get diesel dispensed at company-run pumps at $1.19 a litre.

In the first quarter, ComfortDelGro declared that it incurred a $6.3 million loss on diesel sale because it has been selling diesel at sizeable discounts.

Mr Seng Han Thong, adviser to the Taxi Operators' Associations, supported the move. Mr Seng had said that taxi firms could not continue to subsidise fuel indefinitely.

'We call on other taxi companies to continue to help their drivers cope with rising diesel prices,' he said.

Assuming that each cabby gets about 30 customers a day, the 30-cent surcharge will raise his daily takings by $9, which ComfortDelGro said will help to offset his bigger fuel bill.

Even with subsidised diesel, ComfortDelGro drivers pay about a $15 more a day, based on an average consumption of about 45 litres a vehicle.

To commuters, the surcharge amounts to a 2.6 per cent rise in fare for an average 9.3km ride.

ComfortDelGro said it will remove the surcharge when diesel falls back to $1.19 - the market price of the fuel in December 2007.

Asked if it would raise the levy beyond 30 cents if diesel continues to climb, spokesman Tammy Tan said: 'We've not come to that. This is a very new thing to us.'

Smaller taxi operators are following ComfortDelGro's lead.

Mr Johnny Harjantho, managing director of Smart Taxis, said: 'We will most likely follow.'

Mr Lim Chong Boo, managing director of Premier Taxis, said his company is also likely to implement the surcharge 'after consulting with our drivers'.

The exception, at least for the moment, is Mr Neo Nam Heng, managing director of Prime Taxis, whose fleet of cabs runs entirely on natural gas, which is cheaper than diesel.

'We should consider the commuters' interests. Our drivers have to accept it too,' he said.

Cabby Tan Soon Huat, 49, who has been driving a Comfort cab for 14 years, said: 'I think the 30 cents surcharge is quite reasonable. I just hope commuters see it that way too.'

Others added that the rising diesel prices have wiped out much of the higher takings they were starting to get from the December fare hikes.

Regular taxi user Tang Swee Noi, 33, a teacher, said: 'Much that I am unhappy about it, I still have to take taxis, or I will have to wake up much earlier to go to work.

'We all know the fuel price is increasing so I don't think there's very much that taxi drivers can do. For now, it's still cheaper than getting a car.'
 
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_256847.html

Imagine a hot day outdoors. You just had a lunch-out with office friends in the mall and you are on your way back to the office. To get a cab, you have to fall in line. Now again, imagine it to be a really hot, humid day (not so hard to do in tropical Manila). Trickles of sweat start to form on the sides of your forehead and under your shirt, it’s a waterfall. Then your turn to take the cab comes. The feeling of air-conditioning on your skin excites you so you literally throw yourself into the car. And then—SLAM!—body odor! If it weren’t for courtesy and the long line we had to endure to get a ride, I’d be out of that smelly hole in a snap. The courtesy flag shouldn’t even be raised because a smelly cab is an outright disrespect and violation of my right to breathe!

Needless to say, the issue is hygiene. Most cab drivers here in Manila take this for granted. They go on their daily trips looking grungy and unpresentable. I have in many occasions rejected a cab on account of how the driver looks like. Well, not so much that they should look cute and young and hot (gee, who could resist the chance that next cabbie will be like that?) but simply that they should look clean and decent enough. I wonder if there are rules governing hygiene of taxi cab drivers and their cars per se here in the country. I wonder what happened to the announcement by MMDA’s Bayani Fernando that public utility vehicle drivers with body odor issues will be admonished.

United Kingdom. In Bournemouth, 100 taxi drivers got suspended for not taking required courses on personal hygiene and conflict management.
China. As part of the Olympics preparation, Beijing is banning smelly cabs.
UAE. Cab drivers of a taxi-operating company trains new taxi drivers not just on emirate routes, also on grooming and personal hygiene.
Hygiene is of course a personal decision that we hope these taxi drivers naturally get into their daily system of activities. It’s something they should’ve grown themselves with in the first place. It’s ridiculous how some of them actually attribute the cause of the problem to our country’s predominantly hot climate. Nice try, manongs! And the following suggestions are for you, if you happen to come across this page that is:
Take a bath. I mean, seriously, don’t be a cat and dip yourselves in some body of water. Lather on with some soap, rinse, dry up with a clean towel, get into a clean uniform and you’re prepped. How good and fresh does it feel? You will see how ten minutes can make a big difference throughout your day, not to mention your passenger’s day.
Wash the uniform. And since the uniform was mentioned, make sure to wash it everyday if you only have one set. You will only need to wash every other day if you have two sets, and so on. If you’re working long hours, wash it before you go to sleep with some detergent. Two minutes of scrubbing should be fine. Hang it. Then it should be dry the next morning. Less than ten minutes before you crash your hardworking ass on the bed.
Use a deodorant. Get a Rexona or use “tawas”, it works and it’s cheap. It’s most important if your cab’s airconditioning system is not well-functioning (like most old cabs in the metro). So if your car fails to help you with your body odor, go help yourself!
Look good, look clean. Clean body, clean uniform, dry armpits. Put them all together and try to look the best you can. You’re in a service industry. You deal and meet people everyday. Your job does not start and end in taking people from one place to another; your job also involves making that ride as hassle-free and as smooth as possible. If you’re going to take me as short a ride as from Paseo de Roxas to Makati Avenue and you reek of rotten vinegar, I wouldn’t spare even a peso.
I was inspired to write about this because I’ve encountered such cabs twice. And it’s unbearable. I was casually covering my nose with with my office ID or my finger just so I won’t appear rude. When we finally get to the front of the building lobby, everybody would be trying to get out of the car first, gasping for precious and fresh air. Then later, everybody will be laughing. But it’s not funny.

http://sublunari.wordpress.com/2008/07/12/on-taxi-driver-hygiene/

With the recent hike in fuel price and the escalating cost of living, some taxi drivers have resorted to what they do best – overcharging.

CITY cabbies have hit the headlines yet again for overcharging but the difference now is that they feel no guilt as they claim it is their only means of survival.

A check by StarMetro at 10 taxi hotpots in Kuala Lumpur recently reflected a state of lawlessness that seemed to have pervaded the city.

The situation became worse ever since the government raised the fuel price last month, triggering a free-for-all situation as more and more cabbies decide to do away with the meter and quote their own rates according to their whims and fancies.

 
Fixed price: Taxi touts seen negotiating with tourists at a taxi stand in Bukit Bintang.
 
The argument that NGV (Natural Gas for Vehicles) is cheaper and, therefore, the price increase does not affect them no longer holds water as they claim that it makes no difference at all.

Currently, NGV is offered at 68sen per litre while petrol is at RM2.70 per litre.

Taxi drivers claim that before the petrol increase, a full tank of NGV would cost RM8.30 to RM8.50.

“That would take us a distance of 150km to 160km. However, with the recent increase in petrol price, even NGV seems to have gone up in terms of volume,” taxi driver Rahim Kechik said.

Rahim said it now cost him RM10 to RM10.50 to get a full tank of NGV – yet the mileage remained the same.

Petronas Dagangan Bhd had recently clarified in a letter to StarMetro that the NGV price had not been increased.

The statement reiterated that Petronas conducted scheduled servicing of its gas processing plant as part of its periodic maintenance exercise.

This has resulted in a richer gas content, based on the reading from their Chromatograph Analyser. The statement said when gas content was richer, it had more weight and volume and, in turn, provideed better mileage.

 
Honest cabby: Khairuddin prides himself on using the meter but also respects those who don't.
 However, city cabbies insist the mileage remains the same.

“I wonder where the extra RM2 goes?” Rahim asked, adding that as far as cabbies were concerned they were on the losing end.

Cabbies also claimed that long queues at NGV stations were another problem and they wanted more NGV-equipped stations to be opened.

Khairuddin Shamsudin has been driving his taxi for over 20 years and prides himself with the knowledge that he is one of the few who still uses the meter.

“But I respect the ones that don’t,” he said.

“They are bold to do what they do – to wait at the taxi stand for hours like that. You must respect their patience,” Khairuddin said.

According to Khairuddin, at least 85% of cabbies in KL are not using meters. Cabbies prefer to wait at one designated spot and return to wait again. They charge a higher rate as they usually come back empty to the spot.

“They feel it’s a better alternative to being stuck in traffic for hours, burning fuel and adding to stress levels,” he said.

Khairuddin said in all his years of driving a taxi, this was the first time the situation had become critical for drivers.

“How do you feel when you’re stuck in a jam every day? Imagine doing it day and night. I have seen families broken, divorces and abuse on the rise because of this. Can you blame us for taking the easy way out?” Khairuddin asked.

Due to this state of affairs, more and more areas in the city are being “taken over” by rogue taxi drivers who refuse to use the meter.

However, cabbies not bold enough to overcharge are being bullied by these errant ones. One such person is Azman, who only started driving a taxi about six months ago.

“If I don’t follow their rule, they threatened to smash my windscreen,” Azman said.

“I was told that if I wanted to join their queue at the Lot 10 taxi stop, I had to follow their rates and not use the meter. If I don’t like it I have to find another spot to operate,” Azman said.

“They are everywhere now as most of the city has become a black area,” he added.

 
Sign of the times: A warning notice outside KLCC advising commuters to use metered taxis.
 
To the people at the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), these black areas are called hot spots.

Traditionally, hot spots in KL used to be at Puduraya, Chinatown, and KLCC, but, today, almost every shopping mall has been taken over by touts.

Taxi stands controlled by touts are the ones in front of Berjaya Times Square, Lot 10, KL Plaza and the Pavilion with the exception of Sungei Wang Plaza and Mid Valley - thanks to the management’s efforts in controlling the situation.

Another soon to be black area is the KL Sentral in Brickfields where, despite having a coupon system, customers are still being swindled by errant cabbies.

“There is nothing we can do,” said Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahman of Puncak Holdings Sdn Bhd, the company that manages the coupon counter at KL Sentral.

“Two of our traffic wardens were beaten up by these rogue drivers recently when they tried to instil order. One of them has since resigned,” Mohamad Noor said.

Customers who buy taxi coupons are guaranteed a taxi since they are paying a slightly higher rate than usual. But there are times when they have to wait at least 20 minutes to an hour for a taxi.

The reason? A group of rogue taxis drivers have set up their own counter at KL Sentral and are quoting a more exorbitant rate and even have the audacity to issue their own receipts.

Many honest cabbies have succumbed to the temptation.

“Get used to it because this is survival,” said Khairuddin.

“The fuel price hike this time around is the worst ever and I fear that more drivers are eventually going to do away with the meter,” he said.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/7/7/central/21751355&sec=central