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Xiahou Dun
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Jul 12, 2011
Taxi fare cheats on the rise
Some operators cite more cases of passengers dodging payment; many cabbies don't report such incidents
By Royston Sim
Prime Taxi driver Teo Bak Chwee encountered two fare cheats last month. -- ST PHOTO: SAM CHIN
CABBY Teo Bak Chwee, 61, was twice unlucky last month when he encountered two fare dodgers.
In the first incident, the Prime Taxi driver drove a woman in her 20s from Carpenter Street in Boat Quay to the Singapore Institute of Management in Clementi.
With the meter reading $18.10, she said she needed to go to an ATM to withdraw money to pay him. He waited for 20 minutes, then got out of his taxi to look for her, but she was gone.
A week later, he drove another woman in her late 20s from Boon Lay Shopping Centre to Bukit Batok Avenue 2. The fare was $7. She, too, pulled the same stunt.
Said Mr Teo: 'This problem is becoming more and more serious. It's a trend.' His view may be based on only his anecdotal experience, but figures from taxi operators hint at an uptrend.
ComfortDelGro, the largest operator here with about 15,600 taxis, said its cabbies have reported an average of 166 fare cheats a month this year, compared with 134 a month in 2008.
In the first half of this year, there have already been about 1,000 cases, said ComfortDelGro spokesman Tammy Tan.
Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.
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