Rising petrol prices batter earnings of private-hire car and taxi drivers, as some consider quitting

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SINGAPORE — For taxi drivers such as Mr Andy Guan, the recent announcement that all operators will be increasing their fares this month should have brought some cheer, but the reality is that it has not made much

On Thursday , prices peaked across all fuel types.

With his earnings dropping by at least 40 per cent, Mr Guan said that he is feeling the pinch. Others are feeling the pinch as well.With food, petrol, rental car costs added up, I took home around S$50 a day last time. Now, I take home about S$30 .Mr Riduwan Mohamod, a 49-year-old Grab driver, said that he used to pay a subsidised amount of S$30 on fuel a day before the price hike. Now, he finds himself spending about S$40 a day.

Mr Azhar Ismail, another private-hire driver for Grab, made a similar observation and said that it is often a case of five cars in an area to one passenger. Mr Guan said that he intends to stop driving a taxi and start doing food delivery instead. He believes that he can earn more with fewer overhead costs since he can rely on his personal mobility device.

"I don't think the fuel costs will contribute significantly . You probably feel because everybody's talking it now, but after a while, I don't think we will stop driving just because of that." Others, such as Mr Lucas Chiam, said that his family will still need to use the family car in spite of the heftier fuel prices because of logistical reasons.

 

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