Ride-and-dash incidents have been a particular malediction for cabbies of late. A total of 240 cases of taxi fare evasion was reported in 2015, said to be a 90 percent escalation from the previous year, and a three-fold increase from 2013, according to Public Transport Council (PTC) Chief Executive Alvin Chia.
As such, the PTC announced the implementation of higher fines come May 9 for passengers who don’t pay their fares, with the first offence already hitting wrongdoers with a $200 penalty. It’ll be twice that amount — $400 — for the second offence, and that’s not including the restitution payment of the unpaid fare.
Currently, taxi fare cheats are fined $100 and $200 for those same offences.
Once three or more offences are committed, they’ll face prosecution in court, said the council.
“Fare evasion affects the livelihood of taxi drivers and the stiffer penalties will help to better deter such offences,” said Chia. “We will continue to work closely with taxi companies to curb taxi fare evasion.”
The measure arrived months after PTC introduced tougher fines for bus and train fare evaders too. Commuters who travel without paying the appropriate fare will have to pay higher penalty fees of $50, up from the present $20.
