Cabs / Taxi

Having a nearly perfect train system already, people in Singapore have the additional advantage of flagging down some 15.000 air conditioned cabs day and night. They will bring you home for less then I pay for a single bus ride in Germany. They are cheap, you can have amusing chatd with your driver, and in 50% of your journeys they know the way.
Picture by Alex Steffler

Blue, Yello, Silver, Black ... whats the difference?

There are all kind of colorful, corner cutting cabs cruising Singapore streets. When I first came here I thought the Mercedes Limousines, usually waiting in front of the more expensive clubs and bars would be much more costly then those yellow autoscooters picking you up from the next hawker centre... but in fact, they are not.
Spending your time here you will start having your preffered "colored" cabs (mine are blue) but int the end they all do their job, they take you to where ever you want to go (well, in most cases at least) for relatevly few money.


The Government Owns Them All

First thing that I got told by an angry cabdriver is, that even though it might seem there is a market and several companies competing for passenegrs, its not. The cabdrivers themselves have their little war, but the companies are all laid back watching their money float.
All cab companies are owned by the government which sets the prices and controlls the number of cars chasing each other on the streets.

The different cabs are, just, as their appearance might let assume, offering you different classes of comfort, for a slightly different price. You might also tend to say that silver and blue cabbies have more knowledge about Singapores streets then those yellow drivers, but I guess its just very objective and shouldn't be generalized.


The Different Types

• • SMRT Cabs - White
• • Citi Cabs - Yellow
• • Comfort cabs - Blue
• • Premier Cabs - Silver
• • MART - Green and beige
• • Limousine - Silver Mercedes

There has also started some kind of liberation in regards to cab business, but im not sure yet how it works and as what these typically London shaped and beige colored cabs can defined as.
Please send me an email if you have more information!


The Prices And All Those Confusing Extra Charges

If you are not boarding at the Airport or Raffles place at High Noon, during the night at Clarque Quay or on a rainy public holiday in front of your condo, then the calculation for your average cab drive should be done quite easily.

There is a basis charge which always aplies and differs from cab color to cab color and to this basis charge a general metered charge applies which counts up either by the distance or if you are trapped in some traffic jam, per time.

Once you arrive at your destination or you give up after circling you add those two sums up and pay. Simple as this.

But unfortunately in 95% percent of your journeys it wont be easy as this.


Location Surcharge

Depending on where you board or alight you will have to pay a surcharge. Those places are for example the airport, the city/business district (CBD), special buildings etc. The surcharge is a fixed amount that will get added up to your overall bill and can sometimes be suprisingly high (eg. I paid more then 8SD surcharge in total during the Formula 1 Night Race for a normal ride home)


Night / Peak / Holiday Surcharge

If its dark outside, you smell like hell and have still your last beer bottle with you its most likely late, means night. Beginning at 12AM to 6AM the metered fare will get a surcharge of 50%, and this will also apply for any cab you take during peak hours from 7 to 9.30AM and 5 to 8PM. Furthermore if you are really unlucky and it's a public holiday that day, you will be charged another 1 SD for being too lazy to take the train.


Booking Surcharge

You might encounter situations where you are either too smashed for standing 45 minutes at the cab stand waiting for the next free car or just being under time preasure so you will call a cab. "Ordering" the cab to come to your doorstep will set you back between 2.50 and 5.50 SD, depending on the time and the location.

A very detailed Table of the Taxi Prices can be found here.


Why Arent they stopping? Where to flag!

When a cab is free they have a green light / white light or sign on, saying "Free" or something similar that makes sense. If they are booked they have a red light or sign saying that they are occupied. Now, with time you will encounter obviously "free" cabs that on a lonely and deserted street with wild waving potential customers, just drive straight past the desperate passengers leaving them with a kind of surprised mixed angry temper... why?

To be honest... I don't know!!

There are areas, for example the CBD area where cabs are only allowed to pickup passengers at designated Cab-Stands during peak hours. But the above described situation will most likely happen to you during 1 and 3AM in the morning and for sure not in the business district.

So, don't be surprised if you are waving like hell at 6PM next to Raffles Place and the cabs wont stop, they will get fined if they pick you up, so move yourself to one of the cab stands.

One of the possible explanations might be that cabs earn more if they get phonebookings which, if they have already made enough money that day, they can just wait for to come in instead of picking passenegrs up, "blocking" their cab.