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As of December 2016, the total taxi fleet in Singapore is 27,534 taxis, operated by a total of seven taxi companies. Within the Singapore’s ethnic Chinese population, taxis are colloquially called 德士 (déshì). Taxis may be flagged down at any time of the day along any public road, and typically at shopping malls, there will be an allocated area to queue up for taxis.
As much as there are 27,000+ taxis roaming the streets of Singapore, for some reason, there is always a lack of taxis when you need one, crazy long taxi queues, Taxi’s “change-shift” – and rejecting commuters. And that explains the rise of private-hire in Singapore, with industry disruptors such as UBER and GRAB, giving commuters more control – booking trips whenever they want, offering cheaper options during late nights for commuters (there is a 50% surcharge by taxis, and No surcharge by these disruptors).
In any case, here below, we have put together the seven taxi operators in Singapore. The taxi operators are distinguished by their unique taxi fleet livery.
(Photos via Wikipedia)
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Comfort
Established in 1970, Comfort Transportation (“Comfort”) was then known as the Workers’ Co-operative Commonwealth for Transport Limited with the aim to provide taxi drivers with a profession and better life. Comfort taxi is currently the largest taxi operator in Singapore.
The Comfort taxis are distinguished by their unique taxi fleet of blue colored livery. Based on December 2016 figures from LTA, Comfort has a fleet of 12,558 taxis.
In recent developments, as the ‘leader of taxi operators in Singapore’, ComfortDelgro has rolled out a new flat fare option in its booking app on Monday (April 10, 2017), in a bid to simplify fares and provide commuters with more certainty on the cost of their rides to compete with the disruptors, UBER and GRAB.
CityCab
Jointly owned by ComfortDelGro and Singapore Technologies Kinetics, CityCab was formed in April 1995 through a merger of three taxi operations, namely Singapore Airport Service Ltd, Singapore Bus Service Taxi Pte Ltd and Singapore Commuter Pte Ltd.
The CityCabs are distinguished by their unique taxi fleet of yellow colored livery. Based on December 2016 figures from LTA, CityCab has a fleet of 4,263 taxis.
Trans-Cab
Trans Cab Services Pte Ltd is currently Singapore’s second largest taxi operator, established by their Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Teo Kiang Ang, in April 2003.
The Trans-Cabs are distinguished by their unique taxi fleet of red colored livery. Based on December 2016 figures from LTA, Trans-Cab has a fleet of 4,566 taxis.
SMRT Taxis
SMRT Taxis is one of Singapore’s premier public transport service provider offering public taxi cab transport services island-wide.
The SMRT Taxis are distinguished by their unique taxi fleet of dark maroon colored livery. Based on December 2016 figures from LTA, SMRT Taxis has a fleet of 3,407 taxis.
The latest developments shows SMRT in talks to sell taxi business to GRAB, and for SMRT to double up its focus on the rail business. According to Straits Times, SMRT, fully owned by the government’s Temasek Holdings, wants the buyer to ensure all affected workers retain their jobs. But GRAB does not seem keen to take on more headcount as it has its own GRAB drivers.
Premier Taxis
The company, Premier Taxis Pte Ltd. was formed when the holding company was granted a Taxi Operator’s License following the deregulation of the Taxi Industry in 2003, and the launch of their first SilverCabs in March 2004.
The Premier Taxis are distinguished by their unique taxi fleet of silver colored livery. Based on December 2016 figures from LTA, Premier has a fleet of 1,889 taxis.
Prime Taxis
Prime Car Rental & Taxi Services Pte Ltd (Prime Taxi), is one of the smallest and newest players in the Singapore Taxi market. It is wholly owned by Prime Leasing Pte Ltd, a member of Cheng Yong Group of Companies which is one of the biggest parallel car importer in Singapore.
The Premier Taxis are distinguished by their unique taxi fleet of rose-gold colored livery. Based on December 2016 figures from LTA, Prime Taxis has a fleet of 731 taxis.
HDT Singapore Taxi
HDT Singapore Taxi, the seventh taxi operator here in Singapore, is also first taxi firm here with an all-electric fleet.
It is also the only taxi operator to employ full-time drivers with a gross monthly salary. HDT Singapore Taxi uses electric vehicles from BYD (Build Your Dreams), a Shenzhen-based auto and battery maker that has United States investment guru Warren Buffett as a shareholder.
The HDT Singapore Taxis are distinguished by their unique taxi fleet of dark-green colored livery. As of February 2017, HDT Singapore Taxis has a fleet of 50 taxis.
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As of January 2017, it has been reported that there is a pool of about 2,000 un-hired taxis, as drivers are all switching to renting a private-hire vehicle. Typically rental for taxis costs around $90-$120/day, while renting a private-hire vehicle with ETHOZCab only starts from only $45/day, of which you can drive for GRAB or Ryde while stocks last. It is clear that the disruptors UBER and GRAB are here to stay in Singapore.
For any queries for renting a private-hire vehicle, drop ETHOZCab a line at 6654 8888.
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As one of the cheapest private hire rentals of new vehicles in the industry, ETHOZCab offers attractive rental packages to interested hirers whom are operating as private hire chauffeurs. ETHOZCab offer high professional standard in service and support to cater for our hirers transport needs. For more information, do visit our page or contact us at 6654 8888.[/vc_alert][/vc_column][/vc_row]
