THREE men in crisp white shirts and black trousers lingered near the Clarke Quay taxi stand.

They had their eye on foreigners who were standing about, looking uncertainly at the snaking queue.

Then one of the trio approached a Caucasian in a business suit. "Taxi, sir? I can help you call one. No need to wait."
His price: $20.50 to Kovan, a ride which would cost about $9. Deal done, he whipped out his walkie-talkie to page for a cab. When no one responded after two minutes, he turned to the Caucasian and said: "Sir, price too low. No one pick up. You up price to $30.50?"

Bargain struck, he paged for a cab again and a Comfort Mercedes-Benz cab arrived in five minutes.

This was 9.30pm on Tuesday, a scene that The Sunday Times found was being repeated at tourist spots such as Boat Quay, HarbourFront, Orchard Towers and Jurong BirdPark at different times of the day.

At each site, at least five foreigners were lured into the touting trap by Mercedes-Benz cabbies and their humbler cousins during the 11/2 hours The Sunday Times team was there.

Besides the tout system, which was most blatant at Clarke Quay, the other ruse is for cabbies to sit in their taxis with the 'on call' sign switched on.

They decline to pick up passengers but change their minds when a distinctly foreign- looking person asks for a ride.

A flat fee of $30 to $50 is negotiated. Some cabbies add 'surcharges' such as 'area' taxes.

The meter, as far as these cabbies are concerned, does not exist.

The chief culprits are Mercedes-Benz limousine drivers.

They "trick foreigners into thinking they have to pay more for their ride because it's a nicer car", as Comfort cabby Michael Tan, 57, put it.

But their smaller counterparts - the Hyundais and Toyotas - are also getting in on the act.

The taxi touting problem is riding on the crest of Singapore's tourist numbers, which hit a record 952,280 in July.

Of the 50 foreigners The Sunday Times spoke to, almost all said they had been ripped off at least once by cabbies who refused to charge by the meter.

Two were driven to write to TheStraits Times Forum page in the past two weeks.

When New Zealander Kevin Pledger, 49, tried getting a cab at South Bank Road's taxi stand last week, 10 Mercedes cabbies approached him, but none would charge by the meter.

"To go to Dover, they wanted to charge me $25 or $10 plus the meter fee," said the technical manager, who has been working in Singapore for 17 years. "That's insane. It wouldn't be more than $10 if we go by meter."

While expatriates are more savvy about the taxi system, tourists are led up the garden path.

Argentinian doctor Milagros Rodriguez, 28, who was in Singapore with three friends for a holiday, did not know Singapore cabs charge by the meter.

"I thought touting cabbies is the normal practice here, just like in Thailand," said Ms Rodriguez, who was spotted at Boat Quay.

She was quoted a flat rate of $15 for a ride to the nearby Raffles Hotel, almost three times the usual rate.

While foreigners are being taken for a ride, the locals are upset that they are not even getting one.

Mr David Segar, a project officer who had been waiting more than 20minutes for a cab at Boat Quay on Wednesday night, said:

"It's so frustrating when empty cabs refuse to pick up locals, but only stop for tourists who pay ridiculous prices."

His price: $20.50 to Kovan, a ride which would cost about $9.

Kovan isn't exactly on the tourist route, so you would expect any Caucasian who had heard of Kovan to be more savvy when it comes to taxis here.

Bargain struck, he paged for a cab again and a Comfort Mercedes-Benz cab arrived in five minutes.

If they have agreed on a price, then that's fair. It's only a problem when the customer finds out it should have been cheaper, so perhaps ignorance is bliss in this case.

At each site, at least five foreigners were lured into the touting trap by Mercedes-Benz cabbies and their humbler cousins during the 11/2 hours The Sunday Times team was there.

And yet, when the Land Transport Authority made some checks, it found only a handful of guilty drivers. Perhaps there was a tip-off, although the LTA said that was not possible.

They decline to pick up passengers but change their minds when a distinctly foreign- looking person asks for a ride.

Cabbies complain about how little they earn - around $250 a week seems to be the average for working 12-hour days. So who can blame them if they try to make a bit of money from those people who can most afford it?

They "trick foreigners into thinking they have to pay more for their ride because it's a nicer car", as Comfort cabby Michael Tan, 57, put it.

Strange, as there's actually more legroom in the back of a regular taxi than a Mercedes. It's pure snob value.

The taxi touting problem is riding on the crest of Singapore's tourist numbers, which hit a record 952,280 in July.

What are the taxi companies doing to stop it? Some have even suggested that they are turning a blind eye to it, because it means their drivers earn more money without the companies having to raise the wages.

She was quoted a flat rate of $15 for a ride to the nearby Raffles Hotel, almost three times the usual rate.

It is a lot worse in many other countries, where a taxi driver agrees one price and then aggressively demands more when he gets to the destination. This way, at least, everyone gets what he wants.

"It's so frustrating when empty cabs refuse to pick up locals, but only stop for tourists who pay ridiculous prices."

They may not be ridiculous for the tourists. Compared to taxis in the US and Europe, for example, even paying triple rates is cheaper.