From all of us at Star Bamboo:
Here’s wishing all our partners and readers a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2008 ahead!
Our Singapore will be closed on 25 Dec 2007 and 1 Jan 2008. Enjoy your break and see you soon. 
Singaporeans have a love-hate relationship with our taxis.
Private car ownership in Singapore is a hugely expensive proposition while our public trains and buses are frequently overcrowded.
So taxis plug the gap in the middle nicely.
On the other hand, we can never seem to get a taxi when we most need them, e.g. during peak hours, rainy days, in the city area, in isolated locations.
There were numerous grouses and complaints by passengers.
So to “better match demand to supply”, the dominant taxi company ComfortDelgro has decided to revise (by that, I mean raise) their fare.
Here’s a summary of fare adjustments:
(Full press release available on ComfortDelgro web site)
No customer is happy about price increases, but I don’t think raising fares and surcharges is going to solve the problem faced by passengers (Mr Brown puts it most eloquently here).
I am fortunate enough to have my own car. But my main grouse is:
Why does it have to be so confusing?
For example, just for “evening prime period”, there are three different timings:
There are also up to four different surcharges in addition to your basic taxi fare (five if you include ERP road tolls).
No wonder you’d need a calculator just to work out how much you have to pay for a taxi ride.
(You can view the full YouTube video here. I was the first viewer!)
The average passenger would simply grumble under his breath and give up.
Complicated pricing structures only serve to confuse the customer and mask the exact costs.
Some companies, especially mobile telecoms companies and petrol stations, use them to make comparisons more difficult.
So at Star Bamboo, we charge one flat rate for your bamboo flooring depending on the size area. No hidden costs, no unpleasant surprises.
I think you’ll agree that makes for a much more pleasant experience.
