MANAGING the long lines of taxis waiting for passengers at Changi Airport may soon become a better-oiled operation.
Details have yet to be finalised, but the idea is to give cabbies more information about the demand for taxis there at any given time.
The plan is to put up a signboard along Airport Boulevard Road displaying real-time information on flight arrivals and the number of taxis in the queue at each of Changi's four terminals, including the Budget Terminal.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is working with cab companies on this taxi management system, which will be operational by the middle of the year.
The move comes in the wake of feedback that when the holding bays in the taxi stands are full, a line of cabs will form, snaking all the way out to the expressway.
Signboards giving information on the number of taxis in the queues and the estimated waiting time already exist at Terminals 1 and 2, but some cabbies told The Straits Times that this information may not be reliable.
Cabby Ng Choon Hin, 61, who makes airport runs his routine, said the signboards at T1 and T2 may say the waiting time is 15 minutes, but he has found himself waiting an hour for a passenger.
'It is more reliable to get updates about flights and taxi numbers from other drivers,' he added.
Taxi companies like SMRT, as well as the Taxi Operators' Associations, welcomed the move to provide more accurate real-time information so drivers can decide if it is worth joining the queue.
Three companies now run the five taxi stands at the four terminals.
Teams of taxi coordinators and airport staff, backed by equipment ranging from walkie-talkies and cellphones to closed- circuit television (CCTV) cameras, try to ensure that the wait for a cab is short for those fresh off a plane.
At T1 and T2, ISS Facility Services manages the system.
It is more complex at Terminal 2, which has 20 pick-up bays in the underground north and south taxi stands.
Once a queue of passengers forms, a supervisor and up to four coordinators direct taxis to the available bays and assign passengers to them.
From the 200-cab holding area in the north stand, coordinators are in constant contact via walkie-talkies with their colleagues nearer the waiting passengers to ensure a smooth supply of taxis to both stands.
A CCTV monitor enables them to size up the queue situation in the south stand, which is at the other end of T2. When necessary, cabs are sent from the north to the south stand.
Despite this, peak-hour crowds can take up to half an hour to clear.
At T1, it is a smooth operation with no need for walkie-talkies, as the 12 taxi bays cover a shorter stretch.
Taxi coordinators say the opening of T3, with its 16 taxi bays run by Wilson Parking, has eased the queues elsewhere.
Over at the Budget Terminal, Chye Thiam Maintenance runs three taxi bays and a holding area for about 200 cabs.
Because of the small number of bays, the queue snaked from the taxi stand all the way to Customs during the year-end festive season, when many arriving flights were full.
CAAS said the taxi coordinators have consistently met performance standards.
Passengers like public officer Raj Joshua Thomas, 29, who flies often for business and leisure, has no complaints about how they do their job.
Other than not having to wait long for a cab, he said, the friendly attitude of the taxi coordinators is also 'a good welcome back'.
