CABBY Wee Chew Khoon, 40, waited two hours in the taxi queue at Changi Airport yesterday before he got a passenger.

He used to be able to pocket $100 a day after paying off his taxi rental and diesel but this has since dwindled to between $60 and $70 a day.

"There are now fewer passengers, and you have to wait longer for one as well," he said.

Cabbies such as Mr Wee are finding the going tough but are still managing to get by - they are the lucky ones. Other cabbies who have trouble meeting their rentals have had their taxis repossessed.

Industry sources say that there are at least 1,000 unused taxis waiting for potential drivers, higher than the usual unhired rate. There are about 24,000 registered taxis in Singapore.

With the economic downturn, cabbies say passengers are turning to public transport instead.

Even the recent removal of a 30-cent fuel surcharge has not turned the situation around.

"These days, people take taxis only during peak hours when they are rushing for time," said Mr Wee, who has been driving for seven years.

According to the most recent figures from the Land Transport Authority, the average number of daily trips for taxis in September was 31.7.

This is the lowest since January's 30.5 trips, while bus and train travel is at a high.

MRT ridership on SMRT's trains stood at over 43 million last month, the second highest figure so far this year. Daily average ridership on SBS Transit's buses has also consistently remained above 2.3 million since July.

Taxi drivers said that they were putting in extra hours and effort. "But there have been days when I drove for half an hour and there was still no passenger," said Mr Daniel Lee, 46. The six taxi operators' associations said they have received feedback on a drop in ridership and income from their drivers.

But the associations' executive secretary Chang Meng Dong said the impact on regular drivers is cushioned by the fall in diesel prices.

"Those who exited from the industry are mainly newly joined or relief drivers," he said.

"Based on the drivers' experience from past recessions, they are worried that more newcomers who are retrenched will join the industry and compete with the existing drivers," said Mr Chang.

Read also:
» Operators seek tax relief for dormant cabs

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Nov 27, 2008.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.