SINGAPORE: Not enough — that has been a refrain of cabbies, private-hire vehicle drivers and school bus operators since the government stepped in to provide financial support to them because of rising fuel costs.
A one-off S$200 (US$157) cash payout has been given out from the end of last month to private-hire and taxi drivers. But it “doesn’t go a very long way”, said private-hire driver Norman Then, 38.
“The S$200 probably offsets only a month or even less of a driver’s overall fuel cost increase.”
Even with taxi and ride-hailing companies offering fuel discounts of around 30 per cent or more, costs have still risen.
“The discounts don’t shield you from the overall cost increase,” he said. “If the cost goes up for everybody, so does it for us.”
“All the bus vendors … are suffering,” said the 53-year-old. “We can (add) a surcharge, but the thing is, (if we do so), some parents will maybe withdraw (their children). … So the bus will not (be) fully occupied.”
Lee, who runs a company with 60 school bus drivers transporting about 2,000 students daily, said some operators may need a business loan to sustain their running costs.
He called for further support, such as waivers of the foreign worker levy, parking and Electronic Road Pricing charges and diesel taxes. If not, he warned, some smaller operators may have no choice but to quit “because they can’t survive”.
