THE number of cabbies caught picking up passengers outside Central Business District (CBD) taxi stands is dropping, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) revealed.
But the practice, which was made illegal earlier this year in an effort to improve traffic flow, is still rampant in some parts of downtown, including Chinatown.
During one hour last Friday, The Straits Times saw 10 cabs either picking up or dropping off passengers along Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road.
Over at Robinson Road, there were six such sightings and at Cecil Street, one.
The LTA said enforcement officers make daily patrols in the city, but keeping tabs on cabbies can be difficult.
'The fact is (enforcement officers) can't be everywhere at the same time,' said Mr Jeremy Yap, the authority's group director of vehicle and transit licensing.
The rule was implemented in March, requiring passengers from Orchard to City Hall and Chinatown to Shenton Way to wait at taxi stands on major roads. Drivers faced a $100 fine for picking up passengers on the roadside.
The regulation met with resistance from drivers and passengers alike, who said it was inconvenient.
In March, 566 taxis were caught flouting the rule. But the total dropped to 229 in September - fewer than 10 per day.
Mr Yap said officers also noticed fewer passengers trying to hail taxis from the street. The changes are 'encouraging signs', he added.
The taxi-stand rule was meant to reduce traffic disruptions and accidents caused by cabbies stopping suddenly to pick up passengers.
However, statistics show no change in those numbers: One in three accidents that happens in the city involves a taxi.
Cabby Yeo Seok Hock, however, said the taxi-stand rule has made a difference to him. The 48-year-old said he does not need to keep a lookout for passengers at the side of the road.
His only complaint: Passengers do not know the rule or insist on hailing cabs from the street.
'We (cabbies) have to follow the rule, but some passengers don't want to. And some drivers don't care. They are tempted by business, so they will pick up passengers,' he said.
Passengers said they were a bit confused by the timings of the rule, which runs from 7am to 10pm, except for Sundays and public holidays. Others said it was just too troublesome to look for a taxi stand.
Lawyer Prem Raj, 28, summed up the views of a number of commuters when he said: 'Sometimes, after a day's work, you just want to flag a cab and go home. You don't want to spend your time looking for a cab stand.'
The LTA said it is continually looking at feedback on where more taxi stands could be placed. There are now 117, up from 80 last year. This works out to one within a five-minute walk of every major building in the city.
Each stand also has directional signs pointing towards it.
The Taxi Operators' Associations, which represents drivers, said it had worked with the LTA to identify potential locations for new taxi stands within the CBD.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Nov 3, 2008.
