asia | cathy wu

Uber says that the city-state is a technology hub for the region and has long welcome innovation. What’s more, it says that it has realized that citizens are tired of driving themselves to work and have embraced the service as a way to get around in comfort and style. The unpredictable weather also makes Uber much more appealing, especially if everyone is going after the thousands of taxi cabs all at the same time.

via Uber officially launches in Singapore after four weeks of testing in its first Asian city – The Next Web.

Vehicle Types

Black Our default option will get you the classic black sedan or Van curbside within minutes. Note: choosing “Black” and being picked up by a Van will not charge you our Van rates. Seats up to 4 people.

Pricing
Base Fare (Start with this fare) S$7.00
Per Kilometer (Speed over 18km/h) S$2.25
Per Minute (Speed at or below 18km/h) S$0.85
Minimum Fare S$12.00

Flat Rates
Central Business District to Changi Airport S$50
Changi Airport to Central Business District S$55

Sample Fares
Clarke Quay to Marina Bay Sands S$16
Sentosa to ION Orchard S$32
INSEAD to Bishan Public Library S$34

Fares currently account for ERP costs.

via Uber – Singapore.

Commute between Tiong Bahru and NUS (9.4km) would cost between S$28.15-40.90 (Uber) vs. S$8-11.20 (regular taxi), about 3.5x more.

Worldwide, a record 3.2m people a year died from air pollution in 2010, compared with 800,000 in 2000. It [air pollution] now ranks for the first time in the world’s top 10 list of killer diseases, says the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study.

via Pollution from car emissions killing millions in China and India | Environment | guardian.co.uk.

In 2010, more than 2.1m people in Asia died prematurely from air pollution, mostly from the minute particles of diesel soot and gasses emitted from cars and lorries. Other causes of air pollution include construction and industry. Of these deaths, says the study published in The Lancet, 1.2 million were in east Asia and China, and 712,000 in south Asia, including India.

If the figures for outdoor air pollution are combined with those of indoor air pollution, caused largely by people cooking indoors with wood, dirty air would now rank as the second highest killer in the world, behind only blood pressure.