Problem
Taxi prices in Singapore have increased in Singapore. When I first went to Singapore in the 1990s taxis were cheap. I was living in the centre so most journeys were short. Now I live out in the suburbs, as do many more people as the city of Singapore has grown with new hosing estates along the railway lines.
Now we have ERP (charges for entering the city centre). Once it was free to order a taxi, Then a small booking fee. The booking fee increases. Extra charges for luggage or extra passengers. Your seven dollar taxi fee is now higher. How to reduce the cost of a taxi ride?
Answer
Compare costs
Taxi companies
Sharing A Ride
In Singapore use Grabshare. They claim to reduce the cost of a ride by up to 30%. You share a ride with only one other person, so only one small diversion or stop.
On line you can see ads for this service in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Take a taxi from home and you might even make a friend who is living in your local area. Meet up to walk and lose weight or to swim.
Take a shared cab or car from your workplace or favourite shopping area and you might meet a friend who also wants to meet and share lunch.
On one trip I chatted to the girl in the front seat and we exchanged business cards. Networking en route.
You can take one other person with you for free. This is important. It means that a husband and wife can take a taxi together, no extra per person cost. Presumably the person you are sharing with has the same right. So that takes up the four seats in the car, driver and one in the front, three in the back.
The limit on family members or groups of friends does mean you can't fill the car with a family of four, or group of four. Because there would be no room for sharing with another couple. And this is grab share!)
But you are reducing the cost of what you might otherwise pay per person on the train. However, there is no saving in cost if you have a free train pass (available in Singapore and London, English, to retirement age residents, and in Singapore to children under a certain age or height - see signs in Singapore stations.
Saving Time, Trouble, Slipping, Tripping
Taking a door to door shared cab does save you time over the free train ride. I have also called cabs because the Singapore rain was horrendous. Raindrops were bouncing high off the ground onto the hem of my ankle length dress. I was afraid deriving rain would buckle the papers in my fabric handbag. The pavements (Americans would say sidewalks) were filled with puddles.
I was afraid of slipping on wet grass and leaves. (My neighbour in London fell and broke a hip in January. Three months later, in April, she still had a hard time walking, and had had to move her bed into a downstairs living room because she could not manage the stairs up to the bedroom.
grabcar
Grabshare
Uber
Download the app onto your phone when you have a spare moment. For example, when waiting for luggage at the carousel on arrival in a new country. Then you can call them when you need them.
Warning, it's a good idea to set up at your home, second home or long-stay hotel. The ap asks if you want your current location to be set as home. If you install the ap for the first time at another destination you rarely visit, going to your home, this will come up as a default. You will have the option of changing it. But it's a real nuisance if you wanted just a one click system, have your hands full of luggage, or are already late for an appointment.
The installed ap showing where your cab is travelling is a blessing. You can see that your vehicle is on its way, the route it is taking, whether it is stuck in traffic or racing, whether you have time to dash back for a forgotten item such as a hat or umbrella. You can also be sure it has not overshot the entrance, or taken a wrong tun around your clockwise drive.
You can see if the car shooting past is your own taxi which has just overshot. You can immediately phone the driver to say: 'Stop! Go back a few feet. We are at the first entrance, a couple with two suitcases - look for the lady wearing a red dress and waving.'
Once you have signed up with one of the companies, you will get emails, messages or texts with advertising and offers. For example, reduced prices for a ride or a day if you have introduced somebody else to the scheme, seasonal offers for events such as Mother's Day.
Taxis (listed alphabetically)
Comfort / City Cab
tel: 6552 1111
Two companies, same ownership, Comfort and City, are first in the alphabet and four number ones in the second half of the number. The number starts six five, which is also the code for Singapore, the five is elated, than the number two. This memory aid would be useful if you had a new phone and don't have taxi numbers in but want to call a taxi in a hurry.
SMRT
Tel: 6555 8888
Easiest to remember. Dial the country code, 65, then repeat the 5 twice to make the four digit first namer. The following four digit number is entirely eights, eight being lucky on Singapore / Chinese culture.
***
Premier Taxis
6363 6888.
Prime Taxis
6778 0808
***
Yellow Top Taxi
6293 5545.
At the airport from arrivals you can find a counter where you can order a taxi, either a regular size or for a higher cost and extra large limousine if you have extra luggage.
A roundup of numbers, history and a few comments on costs by customers:
http://www.taxisingapore.com/taxi-companies/comfort-taxi/
Taxi Lost and Found:
1 800 225 5582
+55 6225 5582
***
Want to be a driver in Singapore?
This site tells you what you could earn:
https://driver.grab.com/SG_GC_DAX_Calc
***
Passengers to sign up for sharing a cab:
Malaysia
https://www.grab.com/my/share/
Philippines
https://www.grab.com/ph/share/
Singapore:
htttps://www.grab.com/sg/share/
In Romania taxis protested and demanded legislation. I am watching what will happen.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Taxis in London are expensive. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Now we have ERP (charges for entering the city centre). Once it was free to order a taxi, Then a small booking fee. The booking fee increases. Extra charges for luggage or extra passengers. Your seven dollar taxi fee is now higher. How to reduce the cost of a taxi ride?
Answer
Compare costs
Taxi companies
Sharing A Ride
In Singapore use Grabshare. They claim to reduce the cost of a ride by up to 30%. You share a ride with only one other person, so only one small diversion or stop.
On line you can see ads for this service in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Take a taxi from home and you might even make a friend who is living in your local area. Meet up to walk and lose weight or to swim.
Take a shared cab or car from your workplace or favourite shopping area and you might meet a friend who also wants to meet and share lunch.
On one trip I chatted to the girl in the front seat and we exchanged business cards. Networking en route.
You can take one other person with you for free. This is important. It means that a husband and wife can take a taxi together, no extra per person cost. Presumably the person you are sharing with has the same right. So that takes up the four seats in the car, driver and one in the front, three in the back.
The limit on family members or groups of friends does mean you can't fill the car with a family of four, or group of four. Because there would be no room for sharing with another couple. And this is grab share!)
But you are reducing the cost of what you might otherwise pay per person on the train. However, there is no saving in cost if you have a free train pass (available in Singapore and London, English, to retirement age residents, and in Singapore to children under a certain age or height - see signs in Singapore stations.
Saving Time, Trouble, Slipping, Tripping
Taking a door to door shared cab does save you time over the free train ride. I have also called cabs because the Singapore rain was horrendous. Raindrops were bouncing high off the ground onto the hem of my ankle length dress. I was afraid deriving rain would buckle the papers in my fabric handbag. The pavements (Americans would say sidewalks) were filled with puddles.
I was afraid of slipping on wet grass and leaves. (My neighbour in London fell and broke a hip in January. Three months later, in April, she still had a hard time walking, and had had to move her bed into a downstairs living room because she could not manage the stairs up to the bedroom.
grabcar
Grabshare
Uber
Download the app onto your phone when you have a spare moment. For example, when waiting for luggage at the carousel on arrival in a new country. Then you can call them when you need them.
Warning, it's a good idea to set up at your home, second home or long-stay hotel. The ap asks if you want your current location to be set as home. If you install the ap for the first time at another destination you rarely visit, going to your home, this will come up as a default. You will have the option of changing it. But it's a real nuisance if you wanted just a one click system, have your hands full of luggage, or are already late for an appointment.
The installed ap showing where your cab is travelling is a blessing. You can see that your vehicle is on its way, the route it is taking, whether it is stuck in traffic or racing, whether you have time to dash back for a forgotten item such as a hat or umbrella. You can also be sure it has not overshot the entrance, or taken a wrong tun around your clockwise drive.
You can see if the car shooting past is your own taxi which has just overshot. You can immediately phone the driver to say: 'Stop! Go back a few feet. We are at the first entrance, a couple with two suitcases - look for the lady wearing a red dress and waving.'
Once you have signed up with one of the companies, you will get emails, messages or texts with advertising and offers. For example, reduced prices for a ride or a day if you have introduced somebody else to the scheme, seasonal offers for events such as Mother's Day.
Taxis (listed alphabetically)
Comfort / City Cab
tel: 6552 1111
Two companies, same ownership, Comfort and City, are first in the alphabet and four number ones in the second half of the number. The number starts six five, which is also the code for Singapore, the five is elated, than the number two. This memory aid would be useful if you had a new phone and don't have taxi numbers in but want to call a taxi in a hurry.
SMRT
Tel: 6555 8888
Easiest to remember. Dial the country code, 65, then repeat the 5 twice to make the four digit first namer. The following four digit number is entirely eights, eight being lucky on Singapore / Chinese culture.
***
Premier Taxis
6363 6888.
Prime Taxis
6778 0808
***
Yellow Top Taxi
6293 5545.
At the airport from arrivals you can find a counter where you can order a taxi, either a regular size or for a higher cost and extra large limousine if you have extra luggage.
A roundup of numbers, history and a few comments on costs by customers:
http://www.taxisingapore.com/taxi-companies/comfort-taxi/
Taxi Lost and Found:
1 800 225 5582
***
Want to be a driver in Singapore?
This site tells you what you could earn:
https://driver.grab.com/SG_GC_DAX_Calc
***
Passengers to sign up for sharing a cab:
Malaysia
https://www.grab.com/my/share/
Philippines
https://www.grab.com/ph/share/
Singapore:
htttps://www.grab.com/sg/share/
In Romania taxis protested and demanded legislation. I am watching what will happen.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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