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Just one day into the launch, and there was massive traffic confusion at the airport. The reason? Drivers not sure of which lane to use for their queues.
This was a result of the airport instilling a separate queue for premium taxis and the arrival halls, and causing the drivers to see dwindling passengers. I mean, of course people (especially kiasu Singaporeans like us) will gravitate away from these more expensive cabs, especially if we can just queue separately for a normal priced one.
I can see why the airport would want to introduce such a measure, though. When I returned from Melbourne last week, the queue for taxis at Terminal 3 was so bad that I honestly considered taking a train all the way to Lakeside, since I figured that it would take roughly the same amount of time for me to travel home before I even managed to get a taxi there. There were so many berths for taxis, and even then, there were easily at least 100 people (or more) in the line before me.
I suppose the premium taxi queue would be a great idea, for people who cannot afford the time to wait. Except that these people are far and few between, and it’s understandable that these premium taxi drivers feel frustration.
The introduction of the premium queue also means that these taxis cannot join the normal taxi queue, thus causing a disparity in the taxis that are already there, and the taxis that are available. It does transcend logic, since there are taxis ready and waiting, except that passengers can’t get on board since they’re not in the usual normal taxi queue.
Changi Airport Group (CAG) needs to work out better ideas, and not just let it go on the first day of execution. When the Marina Coastal Expressway was launched, there also was mayhem. But today, after ironing out issues, speed and traffic has improved.
Don’t give up CAG, work with the employers, work with the taxi associations and come up with an amicable solution.
[plinker]
