ENTRIES LINKS TAGBOARD EXTRAS

HOME
I'm staring out into the night,
And trying to hide the pain.
I'm going to the place where love
and feeling good don't ever cost a thing,
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.
I'm going home to the place where I belong,
where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm running from you know I think you got me all wrong,
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.

-Chris Daughtry

11:45 PM
My mum has been telling me to stop taking cabs everywhere for the longest time ever, but it never made for a convincing case until the increase in taxi fares kicked in last night.

Trust me, and take your advice from a cab addict - the increase is fucked up.

$3 city surcharge from 5pm-12pm.
$0.30 increase in pickup fare from $2.50 to $2.80.
and worst of all,
$0.20 increase in distance fares.

So let's think about it.
If you call a cab in town during peak hours, that's $3.50 + $3.00 + $2.80 + $1.00 = $10.30 even before the damn taxi starts to move. That's in comparison to the previous rates of $4.00 + $2.50 + $1.00 = $7.50, making it a $(10.30-7.50)/7.50 X 100 = 37.3333..% increase.

Now, we all know that taxis are a luxury good, with a fairly elastic price elasticity. In this instance, that means that people will forgo taking taxis in favour of taking public transport - maybe the lucky few with licenses will even consider driving. What it also means is that a more than proportional increase in price will lead to a even larger decrease in quantity demanded. Now, I'm no economics major but I'm guessing that results in decreased income for cab drivers.

Increase in cab fares to offset increase in diesel prices? I don't think so.

Increase in cab fares to match increasing standards of living?
Well, that's debatable. I don't know about you, but I personally don't think that our economy is in the pink of health - at least not judging by the stagnant income levels. As far as I know, only the government sector (as usual) is considering a pay rise of 4% in 2008 (In camp instructor terms, that's about $8) and EVEN IF the standard of living is rising, we must keep in mind the fact that Singapore is not a welfare state. What that means is that the cost of healthcare, as well as other necessary living expenses are constantly increasing as well - often more than proportional to the increase in standard of living, i.e. increase in income - none of which is subsidized (to any significant impact) by the government.

So... what increasing standards of living?

And last but not least, an increase in cab fares to match taxi fares in other cities.
Let's see, 1 pound = about S$3.
1 USD = S$1.50.
1 Euro = S$2.10.
Yeah they pay more for their cab fares, but hell they earn a shitload more too.

Doubts?
In the states,
Federal minimum wage law = USD$5.85.
Highest minimum wage law = USD$7.93 in Washington (increasing to USD$8.07 in Jan 2008)

In Britain,
£5.52 per hour for 22-year-olds and above
£4.60 per hour for 18-to-21-year-olds
£3.40 per hour for under-18s who have finished compulsory education.

It may not be a whole lot more, but compare it to S$60/day from 8am-12pm, or S$2.80/hr for Macdonalds employee in branches outside of town.

There may be some profound underlying reasons for rising the taxi fares, but I'm not buying it. Think about it. I don't know about you all, but I'm going cold turkey.

And before I leave, may I suggest a new tagline for the new year?
Singapore - a nation of walkers.