It looks like the taxi industry is on course to implement surge pricing, which can see prices skyrocket during peak demand periods.
This could come in addition to the booking fee, peak hour fees and other extra fees that commuters already have to pay on top of the standard taxi fare.
Once implemented, surge pricing could see taxi fares could soar to 5 times their current rate during peak periods.
ComfortDelGro, which owns Singapore’s largest taxi fleet, has just announced it will look to implement surge pricing days after Trans-Cab and Premier Taxi announced such plans.
Given the history of cartel-like behaviour among taxi firms, it’s expected that SMRT and Prime Taxi will follow suit.
ComfortDelGro says it had been eyeing an implementation of surge pricing much earlier, but was “not allowed to”.
Taxi companies are free to set their own fares, but there’s an unspoken rule that they must receive the approval of the authorities.
This latest move has been seen by some observers as a means to snatch back profits from the likes of private-car hire companies Uber and Grab amidst stiff competition.
