Taxi ridership falls year on year

On Feb 21, the daily average taxi ridership data was published on ST.

It confirmed the fact that fewer people are taking taxis. I guess the incessant increase in taxi fares and ERP charges are actually discouraging taxi riderships for other forms of public transportation.

But the number of taxis on the roads have increased tremendously. This increase in taxis has led to reported poaching of taxi drivers. Many went to secure a taxi driver licence as an insurance against being jobless.

So if the actual taxi riderships have gone done, is there a need for more taxis to be on the roads? As more taxis ==> contributing to jams ==> higher ERP ==> discourage further demand for taxi... So is this what the taxi drivers want?

But they can't try to compensate for their lower income by pressuring the taxi companies to raise fares. This is not the solution either.

The problem is the demand. If the demand is declining due to competing alternatives available to passengers and the trend seems irreversible, a taxi driver should be thinking of re-training and joining another profession soon!