ComfortDelGro ramps up efforts to stem its taxi woes

It recently reported dismal taxi figures for the past quarter.

The competition is getting intense in the taxi landscape and ComfortDelGro is feeling the pressure.

According to UOB Kay Hian, the group's taxi idle rate continues to creep up, reaching 5% compared to 3.5% in the preceding quarter. Its bookings were also down, slumping 20%.

Analyst Andrew Chow said the group has taken steps to help stem the decline, including the rollout of an option for fixed fares and a possible tie-up with Amazon for taxis to deliver parcels and goods.

"Following the tough operating environment and high COE, we forecast fleet growth to decline 5% in 2017 as management’s focus would be to maintain high utilisation," he said.