For such a well greased machine of a city, Singapore has a terrible cab management system. It is probably the hardest "cosmopolitan" city I know to hail a cab. One would think on a Tuesday night, in the financial district, there would be lots of available cabs as people are getting off work, they are taking cabs home. Yes, the cabs might have green lights that signal they are available, but they refuse to stop for you. Why? Because of the random "fees" that is associated with the cab system. The cabbies are not incentivized to take as many passengers as possible, they are incentivized to wait for certain times or certain plans or certain circumstances that maximize their take of the proceeds.
As you're trying to hail a cab, you see lots of available cabs parked on a side road. You walk up to them, they refuse to take you. Why? Because they are waiting to be "called", where they receive an additional $3.30 fee for calling. If you walk by a busy street, no cabs will stop. Why? Because if they simply pick up a passenger a few blocks down, they get an extra $3.00 CBD charge.
The additional fees and incentives make it so difficult to find a cab - not because of supply and demand, for there's lots of ppl waiting with lots of green cabs driving by, but because of the convoluted incentives that slightly modifications in behavior will trigger.
As you're trying to hail a cab, you see lots of available cabs parked on a side road. You walk up to them, they refuse to take you. Why? Because they are waiting to be "called", where they receive an additional $3.30 fee for calling. If you walk by a busy street, no cabs will stop. Why? Because if they simply pick up a passenger a few blocks down, they get an extra $3.00 CBD charge.
The additional fees and incentives make it so difficult to find a cab - not because of supply and demand, for there's lots of ppl waiting with lots of green cabs driving by, but because of the convoluted incentives that slightly modifications in behavior will trigger.
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