TAXI drivers, long the target of gripes by commuters, have been more well-behaved of late.
Instances of touting, overcharging or refusing to pick up passengers have gone down since stiffer penalties- a $500 fine, 12 demerit points and a four-week driving suspension -for these offences kicked in last November.
The number of cabbies booked each month for these three offences has plunged since then, noted the Land Transport Authority (LTA): Enforcement officers booked just 46 cabbies out of an estimated 42,000 active taxi drivers last month, down from 81 last October.
Regular enforcement has helped. Checks are conducted several times a week at hotspots such as Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, Orchard Towers, Mustafa Centre, HarbourFront, Sentosa and the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal; the number of errant drivers in these areas has fallen, said an LTA spokesman.
But cabbies also pick up summonses as road users - for speeding, running red lights and inconsiderate driving, for instance.
In the first six months of this year, for instance, cabbies were handed 79 tickets a day for such infringements, compared to the 630 given out to all other road users each day.
In the first six months of last year, taxi drivers picked up 71 tickets a day- not far different from this year's 79- but other road users last year were handed out just 390 summonses in that time.
The reasons for the jump in summonses from 390 to 630 may range from stricter enforcement to an increased vehicle population.
The commuting public's treatment of taxi drivers came under the spotlight recently when a High Court judge upped the jail term for a passenger who beat up a taxi driver.
Justice V.K. Rajah said it was important that public transport workers be protected against such attacks while performing a public service.
Some Straits Times readers wrote in to laud his judgment, but also called on cabbies to improve their road habits.
Motorist Francis Wong, 56, who has 30 years of driving experience under his belt, said many cabbies have poor road attitude and behaviour.
He cited two examples from a single day, when one cabby stopped abruptly in front of him and another ran a red light at a traffic junction.
Accountant Clements Gopal, 60, also called for driver training, especially for older cabbies, who are generally poorer drivers.
A Straits Times check with the two main market players here,ComfortDelgro and SMRT, showed no significant change in the number of complaints against cabbies in the last few years.
ConfortDelgro spokesman Tammy Tan said that the number of brickbats has stayed constant, but the number of commendations has gone up.
The transport giant gets about 150 pieces of feedback through calls, e-mail and letters about the service provided by its 30,000 drivers, who make close to half a million trips per day.
Full-time taxi driver Tan Cheng Song, 55, suggested that the black sheep tend to be part-time drivers, who drive only at night or on weekends and have fewer worries about fines or suspensions.
The 15-year veteran said: "They can...go back to their regular jobs. But full-time drivers depend on their fares for livelihood and have families to support. They would be more careful."
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sept 26, 2008.
