Here's an excerpt of the conversation:
Crispina Robert:
In places like Changi (Airport) and some of these tourist destinations, what if there are no taxis when you arrive at your arrival hall? There's a big sign there that says you can just download the Grab app and then you can get a (private-hire car). Do we really need to have taxis waiting for people or can we evolve eventually to a system where everyone who comes into Singapore can simply catch a ride through an app?
Ban Kum Cheong (taxi driver):
It all depends on the passenger's needs. Some have children below 1.35m. They definitely need a taxi.
Steven Chia:
This is a whole other discussion. Why don't taxis need car seats for children and regular cars do?
Crispina:
But his point is that he has to meet different demands of tourists, right? So, for example, maybe elderly who don't have access to an app or don't have data to book (a car)?
Steven:
But then again, a tourist showing up at the airport could go to the counter and there's someone with all the devices to say, "I will book on your behalf." We can have a kind of customer service for those who are new to the country. You don't need taxis literally lining up and waiting.
Walter Theseira:
This is an interesting discussion, because the policy problem we're having today is that the market has already decided that ride-hailing, booking through your app, is the way that most consumers in Singapore want to go. And that's reflected in the fact that the share of all the rides which are actually by metered fare has been going down continuously, and it's probably going to go down further in the future because most of the locals who are still using metered fares, they're actually our older population.
Most of the younger ones will use apps today. And so the problem now becomes, how do we provide enough metered fare service to cater to elderly Singaporeans? If there's no motivation for the drivers to turn on the meter and provide the metered fare service, these older Singaporeans will be standing at the taxi stand and nobody will ever show up.
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Crispina Robert:
In places like Changi (Airport) and some of these tourist destinations, what if there are no taxis when you arrive at your arrival hall? There's a big sign there that says you can just download the Grab app and then you can get a (private-hire car). Do we really need to have taxis waiting for people or can we evolve eventually to a system where everyone who comes into Singapore can simply catch a ride through an app?
Ban Kum Cheong (taxi driver):
It all depends on the passenger's needs. Some have children below 1.35m. They definitely need a taxi.
Steven Chia:
This is a whole other discussion. Why don't taxis need car seats for children and regular cars do?
Crispina:
But his point is that he has to meet different demands of tourists, right? So, for example, maybe elderly who don't have access to an app or don't have data to book (a car)?
Steven:
But then again, a tourist showing up at the airport could go to the counter and there's someone with all the devices to say, "I will book on your behalf." We can have a kind of customer service for those who are new to the country. You don't need taxis literally lining up and waiting.
Walter Theseira:
This is an interesting discussion, because the policy problem we're having today is that the market has already decided that ride-hailing, booking through your app, is the way that most consumers in Singapore want to go. And that's reflected in the fact that the share of all the rides which are actually by metered fare has been going down continuously, and it's probably going to go down further in the future because most of the locals who are still using metered fares, they're actually our older population.
Most of the younger ones will use apps today. And so the problem now becomes, how do we provide enough metered fare service to cater to elderly Singaporeans? If there's no motivation for the drivers to turn on the meter and provide the metered fare service, these older Singaporeans will be standing at the taxi stand and nobody will ever show up.
Continue reading...