Taxi companies should ensure that dynamic pricing improves and not worsens the matching of supply to demand of taxi services, said Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng in a Facebook post on Monday. Mr. Ng's remarks come in the wake of several taxi companies' plans to introduce dynamic pricing for booked trips.
TransCab and Premier Taxi, the second largest and second smallest operators here respectively, had first announced the planned changes last Wednesday, 1st March. Industry giant ComfortDelGro, which controls over 60 percent of cabs here, followed suit two days later. Mr. Ng confirmed that these companies have written to the Public Transport Council, the government's transport watchdog.
Taxi companies need the approval of the authorities before any changes to pricing can be implemented. "We understand that some commuters may be uncomfortable with the taxi companies' plans," said Mr. Ng. "This initial reaction is not unexpected. However, those who prefer not to use this new option can still choose to pay for a booked taxi by the meter." He added that there would be opportunity for further discussion during the debate on the Ministry of Transport's budget later this week.
