Taxis are totally too freaking expensive these days. In fact, they are so expensive it has actually become cheaper to drive into town and park there than to take a cab in and cab out. Despite the fact that petrol is so costly its close to almost a hundred for a full tank now when it used to be a dollar a litre like only a few years back.
Here's a case in point. This is what happens when you call for a cab and you happen to be in the city area.
Booking fee: $2.50
City surcharge: $3.00
Starting fare: $2.80
Before you even move a single metre, you're already paying $8.30. Happiness. The days of the single dollar digit cab fare are over. Seriously. Unless you're cabbing for like 5 minutes, be prepared to pay at least 10 dollars.
And the most fantastic part? The meter now jumps by 20 cents, and the distance by which it jumps by 20 cents is less than the distance that two 10 cent jumps used to give you. Which means that you pay more now for the same distance.
And the midnight surcharge? Don't even get me started. The cabs after midnight start at $4.20, and they jump by 30 cents, thanks to the 1.5 times cab fare midnight surcharge. A distance of about 3 MRT stations yielded me a cab fare of 10 dollars, thank you very much.
The conclusion? We should all start getting bicycles.