August 02, 2017, 05:26 PM 
A video making the rounds on Twitter showing scores of unhired ComfortDelGro taxis idling in the yard has won no love or sympathy from Singaporeans.
Look what happens when you take Grab & Uber pic.twitter.com/zqGoqw8z3l
— Mothership.sg (@MothershipSG) July 31, 2017
Taxi industry is dying
This story of the demise of the taxi industry is not new.
Out of 26,476 taxis in Singapore, some 2,400 taxis are unhired and left idling in the yard somewhere. That's 9 percent of hardware doing nothing but depreciating by the minute as Grab and Uber increases their market share.
The economics of the taxi business here is such that the costs of having one idle taxi requires about seven hired taxis to cover.
This means once the unhired rate exceeds 15 percent, taxi companies will effectively be losing money by continuing to stay in the business.
Little sympathy for ComfortDelGro
The video, however, won no love online.
This is what happens when taxi drivers just cut to ur lane without signalling,
poor driving = scared customers
?
— Halim Affindi ™ (@HalimAffindi) August 1, 2017
— strawberry milk ? (@nnarshmallow) August 1, 2017
Look what happens when Comfort got too comfortable
— gurmit singh (@gurms) August 1, 2017
They don't adapt to changes and they live in their comfort zone.
— imranhadi (@imrnhdi) August 2, 2017
But they always cancel my booking.):
— 'Ainul 'Aqilah (@AinulA) August 1, 2017
Nothing wrong i think..
— hanzhawary ? (@hanzhawary) August 1, 2017
Nope, ain't my problem. ??♂️ https://t.co/NNfJuLnSvq
— SLAYZY (@iamruzaini) August 2, 2017
They deserve https://t.co/Guxb4ZvEo4
— Irsyad Said (@irsyad23) August 2, 2017
Look what happens when as a company you
1. Get complacent and don't evolve.
2. Take your "employees" for a ride https://t.co/vvMIJTWMnS
— Colin Cheong (@colinctc) August 2, 2017
[related_story]
Some sympathy though
But there are some who feel that it is their obligation to sustain a local business that ultimately still contributes back to society by paying corporate taxes, as they are based in Singapore.
This beats giving business to technology companies residing half a world away.
Never taken either, never will
— Neil Humphreys (@NeilHumphreys) August 1, 2017
I am with you Neil ( though we must be in minority). Always found the Comfort / City cab drivers to be trustworthy & safe 99.99% of time.
— maal_sg (@maal_sg) August 1, 2017
I suspect we are in a minority mate, wrong side of history, too, i suspect, but right side of conscience ;)
— Neil Humphreys (@NeilHumphreys) August 1, 2017
Although it is true that Grab and Uber are able to provide cheap services with frequently low promotional and market-share-winning prices, mainly because they are financed by venture capitalists, low fares will not last forever.
But a taxi industry that has failed to innovate its way out of its current predicament after so many years as market leader, will not last too long either.
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Related article:
Taxi industry in S’pore is dying
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