SINGAPORE — Changes are afoot for taxi operators set fares within mandated parameters, but commuters are still calling for greater standardisation across an industry laced with differing fares.

Yesterday (March 31), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced rules spelling out which aspects of the taxi fare structure must be harmonised across the industry, and which will be left to operators to determine. Flag-down fares — which vary across companies and has been a source of unhappiness for some commuters — remain untouched. And operators can set their own unit fares — the fare charged per unit of distance travelled or time spent waiting — but these must be based on criteria set by the authorities, and operators must ensure there is one set of unit fares for standard taxis and one for premium taxis within their companies.

Student Kane Raymond felt that standardising the unit fare within each company was insufficient. Instead, the 21-year-old hopes to that the authorities further mandate there be one flag-down fare and one unit fare across companies.

“The problem is that prices are different and sometimes we’re afraid to take certain company’s cabs because they’re more expensive. By standardising the prices, commuters would have more choices,” said Mr Raymond, who spends about S$150 to S$200 on cab fare each month.

Agreeing, executive assistant Aileen Tay, 38, said: “Now it’s quite confusing because I don’t know the charges of each taxi operator.” But she was also resigned to the fact that her choices are also determined circumstances — when in need of a taxi, she takes whatever taxi is available.

The National Taxi Association (NTA) said while the proposed structure will prevent taxi fares from becoming more complex in future, they fail to meet expectations of stakeholders, said the National Taxi Association (NTA) yesterday.

NTA executive advisor Ang Hin Kee said: “The fact of the matter is we only stopped the complexity….People will still be asking how come it’s not further simplified.”

He felt the next step should be relook the issue of flag-down fares, adding that any standardisation has to be done in a way that will benefit consumers, and still ensure that the livelihood of taxi drivers.

Given that operators had indicated that any harmonisation of flag-down rates would mean the fares have to be levelled up, cabbies were relieved that it was not standardised. If flag-down rates increased as a result, so would their rentals which are pegged to it, said cabbie Haniff Mahbob, 62.

At the same time, with higher flag-down fares, fewer might take taxis. This means cabbies will “struggle with more overheads but less passengers,” said Mr Henry Tay, who has been driving a ComfortDelGro MaxiCab for the past two years.

The NTA welcomed the fact that the PTC would be more involved in taxi fare structuring, and hopes that the council would ensure that the interests of smaller market players, commuters and taxi drivers are not forgotten.

Operators SMRT and ComfortDelGro — which runs Comfort and CityCab — welcomed the LTA and PTC’s announcement. “SMRT notes the intention to standardise some parts of the taxi fare structure and we will take the necessary steps to implement the new regulations,” said Mr Patrick Nathan, SMRT’s Vice-President of Corporate Information and Communications.

Group Corporate Communications Officer of ComfortDelGro Corporation, Ms Tammy Tan, said: “We... note that our current fare structure is in line with the new regulations. We will continue to monitor any changes that take place.”

Prime Taxi could not respond to queries by press time. Premier Taxis said: “We are supportive as this exercise continues to allow taxi companies to operate in a deregulated taxi fare environment with certain taxi fare components standardised for better clarity. It will not affect our operations.”