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Peak hour and dronism

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one843
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Peak hour and dronism

Post by one843 » Mon, 24 Jul 2006 7:55 am

It may just be me, but it seems that since the taxis here have changed the peak hours everyone else on this island has shifted there hours also.
The reason that I think this is because up untill they changed they're peak yours if I left my place in Kmbngn by 7:30 a.m. I had no trouble getting a taxi and the traffic was managable. Merging into traffic on Jln Eunos was no problem. Since the change turning onto Jln Eunos has been troublsome.

So is it just me or has there been a change in the traffic in other parts of Singapore. If so does this give strength to someones comment a while back when they called Singaporeans "drones". Waiting to be programed by Big Brother.

On a side note is there anywhere in Malaysia, Indonesia, or Singapore that a person can rent an offroad motorcycle and ride in the jungle for a day?

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Wind In My Hair
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Re: Peak hour and dronism

Post by Wind In My Hair » Mon, 24 Jul 2006 4:12 pm

one843 wrote:So is it just me or has there been a change in the traffic in other parts of Singapore. If so does this give strength to someones comment a while back when they called Singaporeans "drones". Waiting to be programed by Big Brother.
i will post my opinion once the gahmen tells me what to think about this. :wink:

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Post by one843 » Mon, 24 Jul 2006 4:38 pm

Now now Windy dont take it personal. :D

I am not agreeing I am just entertaining the possability.

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Post by Wind In My Hair » Mon, 24 Jul 2006 6:02 pm

don't worry 1843, i accepted some time ago that i stay on this board at my own peril. :)

motorists here are quite responsive in changes to road pricing. rightly or wrongly, many day-to-day decisions are driven by dollar and cents calculations. so your observation may very well be correct.

as for thinking only what the government tells us to think, true in some cases. in other cases, people just don't think, period. thinking is too much work... and anyway most people are too busy rushing off to the next sale to think about such trivial matters as politics, economics, and sometimes life itself. :-|

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Post by EADG » Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:59 pm

this have anything to do with the new exorbitant taxi fares as to why I can now get a taxi no problem at 7pm?
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Post by Wind In My Hair » Tue, 25 Jul 2006 12:00 am

according to my taxi driver today, yes.

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Post by EADG » Tue, 25 Jul 2006 12:22 am

even so this taxi system still sucks

wonder how long before it goes back to previous levels of suck-iness
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Post by Wind In My Hair » Tue, 25 Jul 2006 12:26 am

gosh you sound moody tonight, EADG.

it sucks that you can get a taxi that easily, or it sucks that taxis here are among the cheapest in the world? :P

ps: almost all taxi drivers i speak to agree that it sucks. there are so many taxis it's hard to make a living these days. and they don't get much of the increase in fares, whatever is left of their lower earnings (yep they earn less now cos people are avoiding taxis) goes to diesel and rental. poor chaps.

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Post by Plavt » Tue, 25 Jul 2006 1:09 am

EADG wrote:even so this taxi system still sucks
Let's hope you never have to live in London, when it comes to taxis here you really will have something to howl about.

:(

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Post by jpatokal » Thu, 27 Jul 2006 8:07 pm

EADG wrote:even so this taxi system still sucks
Now I'm genuinely curious -- in your opinion, where on this planet do the taxis not suck? I can't think of too many places where taxis work as well, and in all of them they cost way more than here.
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Post by EADG » Tue, 01 Aug 2006 8:53 pm

I'm not as well-traveled as some on this board so have limited experiences, but:

NYC - always available, and usually some interesting characters and
conversations to boot - helps if you treat them like humans and not just drivers, and that you're not a tourist, the usual tourist abuse stories here may apply

Tokyo or any city in Japan - always available, always know where they're going, excellent drivers for the most part, and like most everything else there, usually excellent service

Bangkok - they're everywhere, cheap, run the meter, and what more could you ask?

Sydney, Brisbane - friendly, efficient service.
Korea was a bit of an adventure....Manila, forget about it...

I've been to London a few times and the taxis were good but expensive, though sometimes the service was a bit begrudging, car service was pretty good too. From what I hear I have been pretty lucky though.
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Post by jpatokal » Wed, 02 Aug 2006 8:44 pm

EADG wrote:Tokyo or any city in Japan - always available, always know where they're going, excellent drivers for the most part, and like most everything else there, usually excellent service
Which also explains why a cab to the airport costs US$300 :o
Bangkok - they're everywhere, cheap, run the meter, and what more could you ask?
That there would be no traffic jams, so you can actually get somewhere in a reasonable amount of time? I have to agree that 90% of Bangkok's cabbies are great, but unfortunately the remaining 10% are evenly split between utterly clueless country bumpkins (I've run into drivers who didn't know where "Silom Rd" or "Grand Palace" are, even in Thai), homicidal drugged-up maniacs (getting a flat tire at 160 km/h on the airport tollway was one of the more exciting moments of my life) and lying scumbag cheats (like the guy who picked up a colleague on his way to an important meeting and proceeded to try to drive him to a whorehouse in the middle of the day; fortunately he was smart enough to get the hell out when stopped at an intersection).
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Post by EADG » Wed, 02 Aug 2006 11:16 pm

jpatokal wrote:
EADG wrote:Tokyo or any city in Japan - always available, always know where they're going, excellent drivers for the most part, and like most everything else there, usually excellent service
Which also explains why a cab to the airport costs US$300 :o
it's a 70 min ride, I never took a taxi unless my company was paying for it
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