HIGHER cab fares and surcharges may hold the answer to the perennial problem of not getting a taxi when you need one.

If peak-hour and booking surcharges are increased, that may soften their demand at peak periods, Minister of State for Transport Lim Hwee Hua suggested on Tuesday.

Participants at the discussion, on the other hand, argued that removing taxi surcharges would solve the problem of some cabs going into "hiding" during non-peak times when the surcharges are not in effect.

But such a move may not really help. ComfortDelGro spokesman Tammy Tan said that the shortage of taxis during high-demand periods is a direct result of fewer people signing up to become cabbies.

"The problem is not an undersupply of taxis but an undersupply of drivers. With the economy on the up and up, the supply of taxi drivers has fallen," she told The Straits Times.

Current surcharges include the $4 peak-hour booking fee, on top of the $2peak-hour charge and metered fare.

Mrs Lim pointed out that one reason cabs are in short supply during peak hours is that more and more people are hopping into cabs during these times.

Call bookings for ComfortDelGro's taxis, which number about 23,000, hit a record high of 1.7 million in March. On rainy days, the average number of calls can be as high as 100,000 an hour, said Ms Tan.

"Perhaps the taxi service, which is really like a private, chauffeured service,should have more price differentiation," Mrs Lim said after a closed-door focus group discussion with members of the public.

She added that some people perceived taxis as public transport and "may expect a normal regular fare, which may not be possible".

Speaking to reporters at the Land Transport Authority's Hampshire Road premises, Mrs Lim also addressed a wide range of suggestions, comments and complaints that arose during discussion.

Among them were calls to improve bus reliability and for all bus stops to display arrival times.

More than 50 participants, drawn from commuters, academics and transport operators, participated in the spirited discussion, which was held to gather views for the Transport Ministry's review of land transport.

All suggestions will be taken on board by the Government, Mrs Lim said. The year-long review - likely to end in a few months - is expected to come up with ways to increase the share of public transport users, especially during morning peak hours.

Co-chairing the discussion were the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport Cedric Foo, and chairman of the Public Transport Council Gerard Ee.

This article first appeared in The Straits Times on 31 May 2007