LTA's Common Cab Booking Number
After the spate of fare increases and additional surcharges, one might expect that the service of cabs in Singapore to improve dramatically but nothing has changed much except for the fact that taking cabs in Singapore is increasingly a luxury that many are now avoiding.
With taxi fares being so high, there has been calls for cab companies to scrap their phone booking surcharges but it seems now that that is yet to materialise.
Instead, the Land Transport Authority has, with taxi companies, launched a new service that promises commuters greater convenice when booking a taxi. A single number, 6-DIAL CAB or 6342 5222, can now be used to call for taxis. The existing phone booking lines by the respective cab companies will continue but this 6342 5222 hotline number will instead route phone booking calls up to 3 cab companies. When connected to this number, the system hunts for an available phone booking line and connects the commuter accordingly.
According to news reports, the selection of which taxi company the calls are routed to will be based upon the market share of the individual companies. If that is true, it will imply that the largest taxi company, ComfortDelgro, will be benefitting most significantly from this service. Is this fair and provides the push for taxi companies to improve their service offerings?
ComfortDelgro, as the market leader, largely dictates the fare and quantum of surcharges for the entire taxi industry. When the smaller companies are interviewed, it is common to find their responses of waiting for ComfortDelgro to take the lead in raising or lowering fare charges. Perhaps LTA should consider having taxi companies waive the booking surcharges for commuters whom make taxi bookings via the LTA taxi booking hotline and change the algorithm of call routing to give preference to the companies whom were most efficient in picking up booking calls and successfully assigning cabs to the caller.
With taxi fares being so high, there has been calls for cab companies to scrap their phone booking surcharges but it seems now that that is yet to materialise.
Instead, the Land Transport Authority has, with taxi companies, launched a new service that promises commuters greater convenice when booking a taxi. A single number, 6-DIAL CAB or 6342 5222, can now be used to call for taxis. The existing phone booking lines by the respective cab companies will continue but this 6342 5222 hotline number will instead route phone booking calls up to 3 cab companies. When connected to this number, the system hunts for an available phone booking line and connects the commuter accordingly.
According to news reports, the selection of which taxi company the calls are routed to will be based upon the market share of the individual companies. If that is true, it will imply that the largest taxi company, ComfortDelgro, will be benefitting most significantly from this service. Is this fair and provides the push for taxi companies to improve their service offerings?
ComfortDelgro, as the market leader, largely dictates the fare and quantum of surcharges for the entire taxi industry. When the smaller companies are interviewed, it is common to find their responses of waiting for ComfortDelgro to take the lead in raising or lowering fare charges. Perhaps LTA should consider having taxi companies waive the booking surcharges for commuters whom make taxi bookings via the LTA taxi booking hotline and change the algorithm of call routing to give preference to the companies whom were most efficient in picking up booking calls and successfully assigning cabs to the caller.
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