T
Taigong Wang
Guest
No reasonable excuse for not paying taxi fare? Face S$1,000 fine
SINGAPORE: With the number taxi drivers of being cheated of their fares reportedly on the rise, the spotlight has now turned on what recourse cabbies have when passengers make off without paying.
Highlighted by a taxi driver who wrote to the media last week, the issue of enforcement against taxi fare cheating was discussed during a recent dialogue session taxi operators had with the Land Transport Authority, said Premier Taxi managing director Lim Chong Boo.
Said Mr Lim: "Without strong enforcement of the Public Transport Council (PTC) Act, there's a limit to what can be done to solve the situation. The issue of taxi fare cheating is not new but it is getting more prevalent and blatant as the fare dodgers perceive a loophole in the system - that nothing can be done to penalise them."
Taxi operators have seen an increase in the number of such cheating cases reported. ComfortDelGro cabbies, for one, have reported an average of 166 fare cheats a month this year compared with 134 a month in 2008. The operator manages 15,000 taxis in Singapore - the largest fleet here.
Cabbies and passengers can turn to the police for mediation if there is a dispute over the route taken or destination. If mediation is unsuccessful, the taxi driver can file a report with the police and may also lodge a magistrate's complaint.
A public transport official or police officer may also arrest without warrant any person believed to have committed an offence - such as failing to pay a taxi fare - under the PTC Act. The passenger can be detained until his name and address have been ascertained, so that he can be brought to court.
A passenger found guilty of failing or refusing to pay the fare as indicated on the meter without reasonable excuse can be fined up to S$1,000. Repeat offenders can be fined up to S$2,000 or jailed up to six months, or both.
Passengers who feel they have been bullied into paying a fare where the taxi driver took a wrong route, or was taken to the wrong destination, can make a police report, file a magistrate's complaint and complain to the taxi company.
ComfortDelGro advises its drivers to file a non-payment report with the police. It may also, as a gesture of goodwill, reimburse cabbies for the loss of the fare. SMRT Taxis also requires a police report and taxi receipt for reimbursement.
In the meantime, cabbies like Mr Tan Kok Yeow, are going to lengths to ensure they receive payment - such as asking the passenger to leave their mobile phone in the taxi when they alight to get the money to pay the fare.
Said Mr Tan, 46: "If they say they don't have a mobile phone, I'll ask them politely to contact their family or a friend to bring the money to them while they wait in my cab, or I'll park my taxi and follow them to their destination. If they are sincere about paying, it should not be a problem."
- TODAY
