TOKYO

Hailing a cab is a breeze

The government determines how many taxis there can be on the streets of Tokyo. There are probably far too many, if taxi drivers' continual complaints about not earning enough are anything to go by.

There are also many taxi companies in the city with drivers who make a living through commissions, plus thousands of individually operated taxis.

For the consumer, this means that hailing a taxi in Tokyo is usually a breeze. One can do so anywhere, even at a traffic light or a pedestrian crossing, as is often the case.

TOKYO'S LUXURY CABS EXCEED THEMSELVES in offering first-class service. Here, a gloved cabby opens the door for a passenger.

No one bats an eyelid, not even the police: There are no rules as to where taxis can pick passengers up or let them off.

There are taxi stands at railway stations and major hotels, but these are for the convenience of passengers.

Because there are so many taxis, one rarely needs to call for a cab, even after midnight.

Restaurants that are somewhat off the main road often call for cabs for departing customers just so they do not have to walk to the nearest main street to hail one.

Despite the stiff competition, taxi drivers rarely complain about passengers even if they want to go only a distance of one flag fall, which is now 710 yen (S$9.70). The cost of a 10km ride comes to about 4,000 yen.

Taxi drivers are often friendly and keen to make conversation. They rarely make it into the news except on rare occasions when a driver is mugged or killed.

Kwan Weng Kin

TAIPEI

Queue for taxi? It's unheard of

You can flag a taxi down in Taipei at any time and anywhere. In a city crawling with yellow cabs, passengers hardly have to wait more than five minutes for a taxi even during peak hours.

Taxi queues are unheard of in a city where cabs wait in line by the roadside or near subway stations and shopping malls for passengers.

There are close to 90,000 taxis in Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million. Slightly more than one-third of the taxis, or about 32,000, are in Taipei city, which has a population of about 2.6 million. That works out to be one cab for every 82 people, on the high side compared to other cities such as Singapore and Hong Kong.

WITH ONE TAXI FOR EVERY 82 PEOPLE in Taipei, long lines of waiting yellow cabs are a common phenomenon.

The government does not impose strict controls on the number of cabs owned by taxi cooperatives or independent operators because it helps to alleviate unemployment.

Taxi fares in Taipei are among the lowest in Taiwan, even after a recent 12 per cent fare adjustment in November last year, the first increase in seven years. The flag-down rate is about NT$70 (S$3.15). The metre starts running after 1.25km and passengers pay NT$5 for every additional 250m.

There is no distinction between peak and non-peak hours for taxis in Taipei, only daytime and late night rates. The latter applies after 11pm and passengers are charged an additional NT$20 per trip. A 10km trip costs about NT$300.

Not only are there no additional charges for dial- a-cab services, passengers who do so after 11pm even get discounts ranging from 10 to 20 per cent, depending on the taxi company.

Ong Hwee Hwee

HONG KONG

No peak-hour or midnight surcharge

Taxis are hard to miss in Hong Kong. They are usually in plentiful supply day and night in urban areas, unless you're trying to get one during the rush hour, a downpour or near the racecourse during the hugely popular horse racing season.

THE RED TAXIS PLY the streets in urban areas while cabs of other colours serve different parts of Hong Kong.

With so many cabs available, it is seldom necessary to call for one except in remote areas. Telephone booking services are available through several taxi operators at a charge of HK$5 (S$0.90).

It is a common practice among Hong Kongers to use "unofficial" booking services, where groups of cabbies form their own networks and waive the HK$5 surcharge, with some even offering discounts off the fare, even though the transport authorities expressly prohibit the practice.

Hailing a cab on the street is a relatively painless affair especially in the city centre, with most cabbies eager for customers in the face of stiff competition from other modes of public transportation.

Taxis are not allowed to stop along roads with double yellow lines, but it is a rule that is rarely enforced especially since the 2003 Sars crisis, when cab drivers saw their earnings dive amid a slump in the tourism industry.

Fares for the red taxis operating in urban areas start at HK$16 for the first 2km, then HK$1.40 for every 200m or per minute of waiting time. A 10km fare comes to about HK$80.

There are no peak-hour or midnight surcharges, although customers have to pay tunnel toll fees. Passengers travelling with luggage - or animals and birds - face additional charges.

Gripes from consumers about taxi service standards are, by and large, limited to rude cabbies or those who drive recklessly.

Caryn Yeo

SYDNEY

Fares too high, drivers clueless

Anybody who thinks Singapore's cab service is a problem should try Sydney's taxis. Not only are they over-priced, but you'd be lucky if the driver knew where he was going.

A study just published by Australia's Tourism and Transport Forum brands the city's cab industry a "joke", with 49 per cent of tourism operators interviewed claiming that Sydney had the rudest and dirtiest taxi services in the country.

CAB CARTELS HAVE SMOTHERED competition in Sydney, resulting in taxi services that are anything but fair dinkum.

Part of the problem is a cartel forcing prices up and competition down. "The agglomeration of many taxi companies into a virtual monopoly has caused service standards to deteriorate and has stifled competition," the tourism body concluded.

Even the Australian Competition and Consumers Association believes prices are 30 per cent higher than they should be.

As for hire charges, a journey of 10km could cost passengers about A$20 (S$26.10), depending on traffic conditions and the time of day.

One of Sydney's largest cab companies, Taxis Combined, quotes a tariff of A$1.79 per km between 6am and 10pm, plus a A$3 hiring fee. Between 10pm and 6am, it is 20 per cent more expensive. Bridge and road tolls are extra.

There are no restrictions on where you can hail a cab, although finding one might be a problem. During the driver change-over period at 2pm and 2am, cabs are almost nowhere to be found. Friday and Saturday nights are also difficult.

Phoning for a taxi requires a massive leap of faith. Two weeks ago, I came across a Qantas flight attendant who was waiting for a lift to the airport 45 minutes after ringing for a taxi on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Clearly distressed about missing her flight to Los Angeles, she vowed to drive to work in future.

Roger Maynard

NEW YORK

Easy to find, but don't forget to tip

It is easy to catch a taxi in New York City - unless it's rush hour. Or it's raining.

With more than 13,000 yellow cabs on the street at any moment, it's generally not difficult to find a ride in lively areas nearly 24 hours a day.

Real New Yorkers know how to hail a cab with only two fingers, and seasoned drivers know exactly where to find their fares: at dawn and dusk outside hotels, the uptown and downtown avenues at rush hour, any restaurant at 2.30pm and 8.30pm, the theatre district at 10.15pm and the nightclubs between 2 and 4am.

KNOWLEDGE OF PERFECT ENGLISH is not a must for New York's cabbies, but a sharp eye for surcharges is.

Driving the iconic yellow taxi for a 12-hour shift is one of the great immigrant experiences. Your driver may not speak English, but he knows instinctively which streets are backed up and when he can make a U-turn into oncoming traffic.

Passengers may not believe it, but there are rules governing the taxi trade. Of course, the only ones your cabby is likely to pay attention to are those that pay him mysterious surcharges for the evening rush hour or the arcana of extra baggage.

The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission sets fares, oversees licensing and scores the rigorous test that weeds out the drivers who don't know how to find the Stock Exchange or Peninsula Hotel.

The taxi meter is US$2.50 (S$3.50) at the door slam, plus 40 cents for every 0.32km. But in fact, it will always cost US$10 to travel 14 blocks from the United Nations to the Museum of Modern Art, no matter what time of day it is or how thick the traffic. JFK Airport to midtown is a flat US$45, plus tolls.

But that's just the base rate. Regardless of where in Africa or Asia your driver hails from, he will have enough English to remind you to tip.

Betsy Pisik

LONDON

3 years of training before licence

London's legendary black taxis, originally designed to allow gentlemen to enter while keeping their bowler hats on, can pick customers up throughout the capital. Taxi stands do operate but few Londoners bother with them. Cabs will stop wherever they are needed.

Everyone has to abide by traditions. The customer informs the driver of his destination before getting in, usually by peering in through the cab window. The driver is expected to know the quickest route without asking any questions.

Scams are exceedingly rare and heavily punished by the dreaded "Carriage Office", London's regulatory authority, which bans any driver who attracts more than three consecutive complaints.

PEERING IN TO DIRECT THE DRIVER before climbing into a taxi is a traditional and hence iron-clad practice in London.

Telephone booking facilities exist, but are primitive. A customer may wait for ages before the reservations hotline responds. He will be given no information on either the cab's estimated arrival time or its registration number.

London's 25,000 black cabs are independent operators. No single commercial company exists. Drivers undergo a punishing training procedure called "The Knowledge" and will not get their licence until they prove that they have memorised London's entire street map. The process takes a minimum of three years.

They do face some competition from "minicab" companies, which operate pools of centrally owned cars available for pre-booking.

The average fare is now $30, making the London cabby the most expensive in the world. A 10km ride will not leave any change from $85; the trip from Heathrow airport to the centre of London will set you back a cool $180.

But few Londoners will have it any other way. Their taxis are a timeless institution.

Jonathan Eyal

PARIS

Pick up at, or close to, taxi stand

Taxis here are as elusive as an inexpensive cup of coffee.

PARIS TAXI DRIVERS PROTESTED LAST MONTH against a government plan to deregulate the sector.

With a population of more than two million people and another five million who visit or work there each day, Paris has only 15,500 licensed taxis. The powerful taxi drivers' associations fight hard to keep the number small.

A taxi may pick passengers up only at one of the city's 745 designated taxi stands or within 50m of a taxi stand, provided there are no other taxis there waiting for customers.

Outside of the commercial districts, however, taxi stands are few, far between and generally deserted. By comparison, there are more than 1,000 stations around the city for the new Velib rent-a-bike programme.

The only other option is to book one in advance by Internet or phone. Half of the city's taxi drivers are affiliated with two dispatching companies, G7 and Taxi Bleu. They are independently owned and fiercely protective of their privileges.

Just two months ago, drivers staged a half-day strike to warn the government against deregulating taxi licences to increase the number of taxis on the street. They argued that frustrated customers should blame Paris traffic jams for the dearth of taxis during rush hour or rainstorms.

The meter starting price is 2.10 euros (S$4.50) and the minimum fare for any trip in the city is 5.60 euros.

A 10km trip inside the Paris area would cost a minimum of 11 euros, but waiting time in traffic and rush hour travel can add to the price. A trip from Charles De Gaulle International airport to the centre of Paris, depending on the time of day, generally costs about 45 euros.

Susan Sachs

This article was first published in The Straits Times, Mar 16 2008.