Complete Guide To Singapore Taxi Flag Down Rates And Fares

Given the dizzying costs of cars in Singapore, taxis form a vital mode of public transport. We can simply hop on a taxi to get from one point to another in a quick and convenient manner.

Given the rising costs of COE and heightened inflation, higher taxi fares are to be expected. On top of this, however, there are also various surcharges, peak hour charges, and other types of charges and fees that we simply cannot constantly keep track of.

Furthermore, even though taxis are considered public transport, the various taxi companies can independently set their own taxi fares. Here’s an overview of the fare structure by each taxi company. Note that while we can now book taxis via their apps (such as ZIG) or through private hire car booking platforms (on Grab and Gojek), we will only be looking at standard taxi fares.

Read Also: Cost Of Owning A Car In Singapore Over 10 Years

 

Taxi Operators In Singapore

• Comfort / CityCab
• Strides Taxis
• Trans-Cab
• Prime Taxi

There are four taxi operators in Singapore (after SMRT Taxi was rebranded to Strides Taxi, and subsequently merged with Premier Taxi; and with HDT Taxi exiting the taxi business). Taxis in Singapore can easily be distinguished by the colour of their taxis.

Taxi operators will also have various types of cabs and models under their brand, so it is not uncommon to climb on to different model taxis, and even more premium taxis that are not the same colour (think the white Mercedes and London cabs)

There are 4 main components to taxi fares: 1) Flag-down fare; 2) Distance- and Time-based fares; 3) Booking Fees; and 4) Surcharges:

Taxi Companies	Comfort / CityCab	Trans-Cab	Strides Taxi	Prime Taxi
	1) and 2) Metered Fare
Flag Down Fare (First km or less)	$3.90-$4.30	$4.10	$4.10-$4.30	$4.10-$4.30
	Premium Taxis: $3.90-$5
Distance Rate (Beyond 1km; every 400m or less up to 10km; and every 350m or less after 10km) / Waiting Time Rate (Every 45s of waiting or less (Inclusive of Temporary fuel surcharge of $0.01 in distance and waiting time fares till 30 June 2023)	Standard Taxis: $0.25 Premium Taxis: $0.35	Standard Taxis: $0.25 Premium Taxis: $0.36	Standard Taxis: $0.25 Premium Taxis: $0.34	Standard Taxis: $0.25 Premium Taxis: $0.36
	3) Booking Fees
Peak Period – Mon-Fri, except PH (6am-9.30am) – Daily, including PH (6pm-12am)	$3.30			$3.50
Off-peak period	$2.30			$2.50
Advance booking	Standard Taxi: $8
	Premium Taxi: $18	Premium Taxi: $20	Premium Taxi: $18	Premium Taxi: $20
	4) Surcharges: Location Surcharge
Singapore Expo Centre	$2
City Area (5pm-11.59pm)	$3
Gardens by the Bay
Mandai Wildlife Reserve (Night Safari, River Wonders, Singapore Zoo, Bird Paradise) (4pm-11.59pm)
Resorts World Sentosa
Seletar Airport
Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal	–	$3
Marina Bay Sands (Sun or PH, 6am-5pm)	–		$3
Marina Bay Cruise Centre a) 7am-10.59am b) All other times	a) $5 b) $3
Changi Airport a) 5pm-11.59pm b) All other times	a) $8 b) $6
Fuji Xerox Towers	Prevailing charges at the ERP gantry located at the junction of Anson Road and Keppel Road
	4) Surcharges: Time-Based Surcharge
Peak Period Surcharge a) Mon-Fri, except PH (6am-9.30am) b) Everyday, including PH (6pm to 12am)	25% of metered fare
Late Night Hiring Surcharge(12am-6am)	50% of metered fare
	4) Surcharges: Payment Surcharges
Credit/Charge Cards	10% of total metered fare + GST
NETS Payments,	$0.30 Additional payment options for Comfort / CityCab: DBS PayLah!, OCBC PayAnyone, UOB Mighty, Alipay, WeChat Pay, and ez-link

* Rates are inclusive of a temporary one-cent increase in distance and waiting-time fares until 30 June 2023.

Commuters will have to pay for ERP charges as well, on top of the taxi fare.

Source of Information: Land  Transport Authority (LTA)

 

Comfort/CityCab

Booking Hotline: 6552 1111

For full fare and fees, visit Comfort / CityCab.

ComfortDelGro has about 9,000 taxis under the Comfort and CityCab brands. These distinctly blue (Comfort) and yellow (CityCab) taxis are likely the most common type we see on the roads.

Different cab types within the Comfort / CityCab fleet will charge slightly different rates. There are various types of vehicles we can expect to hop on:

– Hyundai i-40 Taxi

– Toyota Prius / Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Taxis

– Hyundai Ioniq EV / Hyundai Kona EV / BYD e6 Electric Vehicle Taxis

– Limousine Cab

 

Strides Taxis

Booking Hotline: 6555 8888

For full fare and fees, visit Strides Taxi.

SMRT-owned Strides Taxi is a relatively new brand in the marketplace – forming Singapore’s second-largest taxi operator after a merger between SMRT’s rebranded Strides Taxi and Premier Taxi. This merger announcement happened in mid-April.

We can’t miss their bright green paint job. For now, we may still see the magenta SMRT Taxis and Premier Taxi’s Silvercab on the road. Taxi models in the fleet include:

– Toyota Prius

– MG5

– London Taxi

 

Trans-Cab

Booking Hotline: 6555 3333

For full fare and fees, visit, Trans-Cab.

With just 50 cabs when it started in 2003, Trans-Cab has grown its fleet to over 2,000 today. We can easily recognise these taxis, which have red bodies and white tops, on the roads in Singapore.

Commuters can expect to board these models:

– Toyota Prius

– Renault Latitude

– Toyota Alphard

– Mercedes Benz

 

 

Prime Taxi

Booking Hotline: 6778 0808

For full fare and fees, visit Prime Taxi.

These copper-coloured taxis operate under the Prime Taxi brand. They are the youngest taxi operator, starting up their taxi business in 2007. Cars in the Prime taxi fleet include:

– Toyota Axio

– Toyota Camry

– Toyota Prius

– Toyota Vellfire

– Toyota Noah

– Honda Grace

– Honda Shuttle

– Toyota Alphard

 

Read Also: Guide To Car Sharing Options In Singapore: Blue SG, Tribecar, Car Club, CarLite, Shariot, GetGo, Drive lah

Taxis Are Here To Stay

There are two main reasons for this. First, cars are getting very expensive in Singapore. Next, in tandem with this, our public transport system is being beefed up – as we strive to transition into a car-lite society.

Today, there are over 140 MRT stations across six MRT lines. Our bus routes are operated by four operators, with Go Ahead Singapore and Tower Transit Singapore supplementing SMRT and SBS Transit. Taxis (as well as private hire cars) will have to complement the MRT and bus routes.

Read Also: Cheapest Cars That You Can Buy In Singapore

 

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