Taxi Stops

LTA finally backed down on the rule implemented on March 1st to "increase safety for all road users" aka taxi only stops at the taxi stands. The change from March 17th allows taxi to pick up and drop off passengers on side roads that are not served by public buses in the Central Business District. This finally came after two and a half weeks of complaints showered from taxi-drivers, passengers and businesses in the city.

Should the public be consulted about such policies? Would the policy makers understand the impact of the policy? Is a simulation of the policy implementation done? I wonder if our policy-makers have actually gone around the city to observe taxi stands and streets with many restaurants to observe and ask members of the public what they would think of the new policies.

Another thought in my mind is that our rules state the allowed activities in the sandbox versus where are the out-of-bound markers. A well-known example is our "No U-Turn Syndrome". It may be a result of our education of mostly being taught what can be done rather than "just do not break the laws". Make a guess on how many of us would take big risks?

So why is the title of the post Taxi Stops? That is because public buses can only stop at Bus Stops. Thus, I had expected that the announcement of the March 1st rule should have included the renaming of Taxi Stands to Taxi Stops.