SINGAPORE: Not enough — that has been a refrain of cabbies, private-hire vehicle drivers and school bus operators since the government stepped in to provide financial support to them because of rising fuel costs.

A one-off S$200 (US$157) cash payout has been given out from the end of last month to private-hire and taxi drivers. But it “doesn’t go a very long way”, said private-hire driver Norman Then, 38.

“The S$200 probably offsets only a month or even less of a driver’s overall fuel cost increase.” 

Even with taxi and ride-hailing companies offering fuel discounts of around 30 per cent or more, costs have still risen.

“The discounts don’t shield you from the overall cost increase,” he said. “If the cost goes up for everybody, so does it for us.”

What has helped to offset the cost increase is the passenger fuel surcharge temporarily nearly doubling to 90 cents per trip for him, which means higher fares.

For some drivers, however, driving more to make up the difference is not an option.

School buses, for instance, operate on fixed routes and hours. They also rely largely on diesel, whose retail prices have risen more than 75 per cent, whereas petrol prices have increased by about 20 per cent.

With disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz choking off the supply of Gulf crude, many Asian refineries — built to maximise diesel output from Middle Eastern oil — are extracting lower yields from replacement supplies from the Americas or West Africa.

WATCH: Why prices are rising across Singapore — and it starts with fuel (22:08)

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