WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Singapore taxi firm to axe diesel surcharge
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-29 16:05

SINGAPORE -- ComfortDelGro, Singapore's largest taxi operator, announced Wednesday that it will be removing the 30-Singapore-cent diesel surcharge on taxi rides with effect from 06:00 a.m. local time (2200 GMT), on November 12.

The company, which runs a fleet of 14,000 cabs, said in a statement that the move was in light of the recent decline in diesel prices and the weakening economic condition.

The move comes four months after the surcharge was introduced in July to help cabbies dull the impact of fast-rising diesel prices.

But diesel pump price has fallen to 1.38 Singapore dollars per liter from the July peak of 1.83 Singapore dollar.

ComfortDelGro said it will continue subsidizing the cost of diesel for its drivers.

It spent 16.2 million Singapore dollars on diesel subsidies in the first half of this year.

A small taxi operator Trans-Cab said a day earlier that it will break ranks with the city-state's other taxi firms and drop its 30- Singapore-cent fuel surcharge from November 11.

The other operators, including Smart Automobiles and Premier Taxi, have yet to make a decision on the surcharge.