Taxi ride to the airport

I took a taxi to bring me to the airport. I asked the taxi driver about his plans for the return trip. He had arranged to pick up another passenger to bring to the airport after my trip.

On other days, he would wait in the queue at the airport for about 1 hour to get a passenger. As there will be a plane arriving at a specific time, there will be passengers who need a taxi.

Both methods seems to be quite inefficient. The taxi driver has to drive 10 km to pick up the next passenger or to wait for 1 hour for another passenger. The wasted time and distance must add to the cost of taxi fares.

What is the solution? Make better use of taxi calling. This will reduce the waiting time and travelling distance. But, the taxi calling charge is now too high and customers are reluctant to call a taxi and pay $2.50 or $4.

In some countres, the taxi calling is free. This will improve efficiency of the taxi service and reduce wastage. This matter needs to be regulated, rather than left to the taxi companies to work out.

Tan Kin Lian