Car owners will be able to get upfront cash on their PARF and COE when they scrap their cars - with this new ruling kicking into effect from 1st September 2008. The LTA commented that this is the latest move in encouraging more car owners to switch to public transport when they sell their cars. Previously, car owners are not given the option to get cash upfront, but could use the balance to offset their taxes when they get new cars. Alternatively, these "rebates" could be sold to car retailers who would usually get it at a discount.

With the recent drive to get people to take public transport, let’s just hope that the system is able to cope with the increase. The last thing that we’d want to hear is another fare hike citing increased fuel, or increased manpower or anything to the likes. However, judging from historical events, fare hikes are very likely because the LTA/government would "want to increase fares gradually instead of having huge jumps at one go".

Are our pay increasing? Sadly, that’s not the case. The public sector probably have it a little better because they are given cash bonuses of between $100 to $300 to help offset the effects of inflation; not to mention a 1/2 month bonus in the month of July. Is the public sector beginning to look more rosy? Well, only if they start looking into their pay packages, which I think they are now.

We can only hope that better days will come.

Scrap car and get PARF, COE rebates in cash from Sept 1

Move is to make it easier for car owners to give up their cars and switch to public transport.

By Christopher Tan

REVERSING a rule that dates back more than three decades, the Government will allow motorists to get their scrap and COE rebates in cash when they deregister their cars from Sept 1.

The move, announced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Tuesday, is to make it easier for car owners to give up their cars and switch to public transport.

Currently, motorists who scrap or export their cars before they turn 10 years old get a paper rebate, which they can use to offset taxes on a new vehicle. If they do not want to buy a new car, they would have had to sell the paper rebate to dealers, who will take it off them at a discount.

In March, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced that the Government was reviewing if it was possible to hand out the rebates in cash - as part of a holistic approach to encourage more drivers to give up their cars for public transport.

LTA, in a statement on Tuesday, said car owners can apply to get their rebates in cash if they wish to.

Those who are happy with the current situation - largely by leaving the arrangement in the hands of dealers or motor traders - can continue to do so.

To apply for a cash refund, motorists can do so online via the one.motoring portal, or download a form (Form FR02) from the site, fill it up and mail it to the LTA.

To enable more car owners to benefit from this rule change, the LTA will extend the deadline for scrap and COE rebates which are expiring between July 1 and Sept 29 to to Sept 30.

The news is welcome by motor traders and motorists, many of whom have been asking why the Government cannot simply give cash rebates.

Mr Raymond Tang, managing director of used car trader Yong Lee Seng, said: ‘It’s good for the public as well as dealers who trade in these rebates.

‘In the past, they can only sell the paper to car companies, who use them when they register new vehicles. Now, they can go directly to the LTA and get cash.”

Since 2003, about 80,000 passenger cars are scrapped each year before turning 10 years old. It is estimated that about $2 billion worth of rebates are dispersed a year.

From Sept 1, if every motorist wants cash instead of a paper rebate, the Government would have to set aside the same amount in cash.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_253500.html

Article extracted on 1st July 2008

Is getting turned on at a refuse chute your cup of tea. then you might just have joined another league. A youth was charged with molesting a girl at a refuse dump near a block of flats. If he’s convicted, he will be spending up to 10 years in jail plus caning. I hope there’s enough refuse in jail to turn him on and I hope he’s not bi.

Youth charged with molesting girl

A 19-YEAR-OLD was charged on Tuesday with causing wrongful restraint to a girl while molesting her.

Tan Wee Ming allegedly touched the 16-year-old’s private parts while grabbing her hands and pressing her down at a rubbish dump near a block of flats in Toa Payoh on June 23.

He was remanded for investigation for a week.

If convicted he faces a jail term of between two and 10 years plus caning.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Courts%2Band%2BCrime/STIStory_253484.html

Article extracted on 1st July 2008

I got a reply to one of my earlier posts here. The comment basically highlighted the fares in other countries - particularly Hong Kong. I have to admit that fares in some other countries are indeed more expensive than Singapore’s (have you tried taking a New York taxi?), but after much consideration, I think - yes, I think that we (or at least, I) are not lamenting on how expensive our taxi fares are, or not. It’s more on how the taxi companies raise their taxi fares as and when they fancy.

I probably have no qualms about paying a premium for a taxi when I really need one - but it seems like they are adding fares every now and then - and it just make anyone feel like a sucker - not to mention of news that some passenger actually got charged a city surcharge of $3.00 when he boarded the taxi at Kembangan - which is obviously far away from the city. This incident, was conveniently called a "muddle".

Oh yes, if Kembangan is part of the city, then wouldn’t Aljunied, Eunos, Paya Labar and the rest down the MRT line be considered as "city area" - and, to add salt to the wound, isn’t Singapore… a Lion City?!

I really have no solution for this taxi fare issue. However, going by the arguments that the taxi companies are giving, it does seem that everyone (all employees) deserve a pay increment every time there’s announcement of a fuel hike because inevitably, everything else gets affected and everyone is effectively having less money. Perhaps the taxi companies should look into looking after the welfare of their own taxi drivers instead of pushing everything to the consumers and making everyone hate taxi drivers (no, of course I don’t hate them - I just hate the amount of surcharge that appears on the screen).

And of course, educate their taxi drivers on where the city is.

The big taxi surcharge muddle

NEXT time you board a taxi in town, be extra-vigilant of the surcharges you have to pay.

A confusion over what constitutes the ‘City’ area means that some people could end up paying $3 more than they should.

Technically, it sounds simple enough: If a passenger boards a taxi in the City area between 5pm and midnight from Mondays to Saturdays, then he is subject to a $3 surcharge.

But what exactly are the demarcations of ‘City’? Therein lies the confusion for some passengers and taxi drivers.

The inconsistent implementation of the surcharge has riled passengers who say they are being ripped off by errant cabbies.

Mr Fattah Salim, 19, a polytechnic student, was almost made to pay the surcharge for a cab ride last Saturday at 9pm.

Despite the fact that he had boarded at Kembangan - in the eastern part of Singapore and well outside the the Central Business District (CBD) - the driver implemented the surcharge.

When he queried the driver, the latter insisted Kembangan was part of the city area where the surcharge was applicable.

The driver reluctantly waived the surcharge only after Mr Fattah protested.

The three taxi companies- namely, ComfortDelGro, SMRT and Premier Taxis - said the City area surcharge was applicable if the point of hire is within demarcated CBD zones.

ComfortDelGro added that the surcharge also applies if the point of hire for its cabs is in the Orchard Road stretch.

All three companies also said their drivers are briefed on the areas covered by the surcharge.

Despite this, some taxi drivers mypaper spoke to said they only have a sketchy grasp of it.

my paper spoke to several passengers who suggested that a proper map displayed in the taxis for everyone to see so as to eliminate confusion. According to them, some cabbies have been arbitrarily imposing the surcharges even if the point of hire is outside the city area.

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) website (www.lta.gov.sg), the demarcated areas considered as the CBD include Tanjong Pagar, Republic Boulevard and Havelock Road.

Unlike ComfortDelGro, Premier Taxis and SMRT do not include the Orchard Road stretch as part of the City area.

Both passengers and taxi drivers agree that having one uniform map for display will go some distance to solve the problem.

When contacted, an LTA spokesperson said that the surcharge is independently imposed by the taxi companies themselves. — my paper

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_252210.html

News of the fuel surcharge:

Taxi firms mulling over fuel surcharge

Flat tariff of 30 to 40 cents may be imposed to help cabbies offset soaring cost of diesel

By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

Just months after taxi fares rose sharply, cab commuters may have to brace themselves for another cost hike: fuel surcharges.

The Sunday Times has learnt that taxi companies here are proposing what airlines have been applying since 2004 - a surcharge on top of stated fares to defray rising fuel prices. In the case of airlines, the surcharges are sometimes higher than the fares.

Industry sources say the fuel surcharge being considered for cabs could be a flat tariff of 30 to 40 cents a ride. If a cabby makes about 20 trips per shift, a 40-cent tariff would lift daily takings by $8, helping to offset the rise in fuel expenses.

Since the last cab fare increase in December, prices of diesel at the pumps have climbed by 40 cents a litre to a record $1.933 (before discount). A cabby on a single shift covering about 250km would have seen his fuel bill rising by close to $10 a day over the period.

Although operators have not made a firm decision, observers reckon the surcharge could be implemented in the next few weeks.

Mr Lim Chong Boo, managing director of Premier Taxis, said: ‘We’ll have to wait for ComfortDelGro to take the lead.’

Ms Tammy Tan, spokesman for ComfortDelGro, the biggest cab group, said: ‘This is something that is being looked at, given the unabated rise in fuel prices. But no decision has been taken yet.’

Mr Neo Nam Heng, managing director of Prime Taxis, whose fleet runs entirely on compressed natural gas, said even if other players went ahead with a fuel surcharge, he might not. ‘We cannot follow blindly. After all, we are not using the same fuel as they are. We will gather feedback from our drivers before making the next move.’

There are six taxi companies here with a total fleet of about 24,000 cabs. As the industry is deregulated, they do not need to seek approval from the authorities to make changes to fares, unlike the bus and train operators.

Taxi drivers have mixed reactions to news of the proposal.

Cabby Azman Mohamed, 45, said: ‘We’ve seen a drop in passenger numbers since the fare increase. This is not going to help us. This will only help the bus and MRT companies because fewer people will take cabs. What we want is more passengers, not driving around empty burning more fuel.’

Fellow driver S.H. Ngiam, 53, said: ‘We have too many surcharges. This will put off more people.’

But cabby Tony Pang, 59, felt it was ‘a good move as it will relieve the hardship of rising diesel prices’.

Other cabbies said the time is not right for such a move, with inflation rate at a 26-year high. ‘We’ll be digging our own graves,’ one said.

Commuters are obviously displeased with the prospect.

Merchandiser Ivy Ong, 42, spoke for many when she said: ‘Oh no. I will not take taxis unless it is absolutely necessary.’

Ms Dawn Chia, 28, who is in public relations, said it would be ’slightly insensitive of cab companies’ given that the last fare hike was ‘imposed very recently’.

Consumers Association of Singapore executive director Seah Seng Choon noted that when fares were raised recently, fuel cost was cited as one of the reasons.

‘Therefore, cab companies owe the public a good explanation to show cause for such a proposal to be justifiable,’ he said.

Taxi companies raised fares on Dec 17 last year. The flag-down fare rose by 30 cents to $2.80 and meters jumped at shorter intervals.

The city surcharge trebled to $3 from 5pm to midnight, and the peak-period surcharge was changed to 35 per cent of the metered fare from a flat $2.

Although cabbies said the number of fares has fallen since, takings have improved.

National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der-Horng said: ‘Fuel cost should be properly reflected in fares, but imposing a surcharge now may worsen the public’s impression of the taxi industry, especially when inflation is on everyone’s mind.’

Mr Seng Han Thong, adviser to the Taxi Operators’ Associations, said: ‘Diesel prices have gone up by about 50 per cent from a year ago. Many taxi companies have also been giving fuel rebates to drivers. But this would not be sustainable in the long run.

‘We welcome and support any proposal from companies to help drivers reduce their burden. A fuel surcharge could be one way.’

christan@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Home/Story/STIStory_252841.html

Article extracted on 1st July 2008

Update: Oh, everyone can vote once daily until 4 weeks later. Please help to vote daily. =) The shortcut link is http://sgblogawards.omy.sg/finalists/?blogCat=insightful. Thank you!!! =)

I seriously doubt I have readers that will do this for Simply Jean, but Simply Jean had been nominated and is one of the Top 10 Finalist running for the most insightful blog award. We are quite bad at pulling for votes, but we do hope that you’d cast a vote for us. Moreover, we are quite paiseh at massaging everyone of our friends on MSN to ask them to vote for us. Soon, we might just get blocked on their MSN list. =(

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