My Taxi Revenge

[ecureilx]

And that's the reason I leased a car!fed up with being stranded on the road late evening with every cabby asking where I wanted to go before saying he was "shift change". Budget went for a toss but aggravation reduced tremendously.

I am jealous .. oh, by the way, maybe YOUR location is a bit of a spot ???

Unless the driver has the "SHIFT Change sign" on, or board showing the heading he is going, he cannot refuse a hire - or cherry pick. ...

Anyway, taxi guys will not have to worry about you filing a complaint since you got your own wheels ..

[Mad Scientist]

And this is enough to rile you up? You must be bored living here.

No, I do not have to give directions down to the last street. Taxi drivers prefer passengers to direct them to avoid disputes. And unless the driver is a newly licensed one, telling them the main route (BKE, PIE etc) is usually sufficient. Most of them time they can connect the dots and figure out the turns themselves.

Some of them may have trouble in the housing estates and I do not blame them because I get confused too even as a Singaporean!

If I can wade into this discussion, yes. I have to agree with your points on this. This is a double edge sword for the taxi driver. Don't ask and get bash for going the longer route. Check with the passenger on the best route to get there and get scolded for being incompetent. It is a thankless profession one may conclude.
While I do not forgive unscruplous taxi drivers but it will make the trip much more peaceful if the passenger check the driver on which route he wants to take or on the opposite side of the fence, the driver should check with the passenger on which route the passenger wants to go.
Nobody likes to be given a run around . Having said that if the Taxxi drivers still persist, then by all means "Burn them in Hell !!"

[x9200]

In which case it is in my interest to know the directions beforehand to
avoid paying excessive taxi fare.

QED.

Surely this is how it works here and not only for the cabbies. Want to have it done right, do it by yourself. Anther taxi related area badly in need of improvement is how to actually drive a car especially a manual. It is not difficult but they resist if you try to help them so your approach may fail here.

[x9200]

Time for a bit of nostalgia

One thing I miss about London is that the cabbies are generally bloody amazing. Maybe they should institute something like the London cabbies exam 'The Knowledge' in SG? Hmmm maybe not, I can't really see that working!

Cabs would be then much more expensive and the profession less accessible. But this is not the lack of knowledge/skills that is the problem but the attitude. Here they act like they are on their private leisure ride where they can make sometimes a favor to selected people picking them up from the curb according to the cabbies private preferences.

[JR8]

Time for a bit of nostalgia

One thing I miss about London is that the cabbies are generally bloody amazing. Maybe they should institute something like the London cabbies exam 'The Knowledge' in SG? Hmmm maybe not, I can't really see that working!

Cabs would be then much more expensive and the profession less accessible. But this is not the lack of knowledge/skills that is the problem but the attitude. Here they act like they are on their private leisure ride where they can make sometimes a favor to selected people picking them up from the curb according to the cabbies private preferences.

Oh Lordy, I see another multi-generation campaign coming on!

[x9200]

Probably not but in many aspects this profession is in Singapore like a dumpster. There are some good taxi drivers around but it is maybe like 2% of the total (IMO of course), The rest are random people who don't really care about this job. Retirees seeking for an extra income, recently retrenched full of bitterness and blaming the others (esp. foreigners) that they have to do such job etc.

[JR8]

Think I'd rather pay the premium for a professional!

[sanjivvohra]

I am jealous .. oh, by the way, maybe YOUR location is a bit of a spot ???

Unless the driver has the "SHIFT Change sign" on, or board showing the heading he is going, he cannot refuse a hire - or cherry pick. ...

Anyway, taxi guys will not have to worry about you filing a complaint since you got your own wheels ..

Location = Upper East Coast Road (on the road, not in any of the side lanes). Its pretty much on the well travelled route, but cabbies will be cabbies. After a great night out, wouldnt want to spoil my mood with arguing about the sign on the cab!
Anyway, except for airport drops/pick ups and drinking binges, taxi rides are over for us.

[sanjivvohra]

Probably not but in many aspects this profession is in Singapore like a dumpster. There are some good taxi drivers around but it is maybe like 2% of the total (IMO of course), The rest are random people who don't really care about this job. Retirees seeking for an extra income, recently retrenched full of bitterness and blaming the others (esp. foreigners) that they have to do such job etc.

This is pretty much par for the course anywhere in the world

[teck21]

Singapore: the land where taxi driving is a social safety net.

Nevertheless, I must not take taxis enough since I do not have a problem with most of them.

[ecureilx]

[
Location = Upper East Coast Road (on the road, not in any of the side lanes). Its pretty much on the well travelled route, but cabbies will be cabbies. After a great night out, wouldnt want to spoil my mood with arguing about the sign on the cab!
Anyway, except for airport drops/pick ups and drinking binges, taxi rides are over for us.

pardon my language, and don't be offended, but, if you have been constantly getting into argument with taxi drivers, could it be that the problem is YOU ??? I do have an occasional skirmish, but that doesn't qualify as "ALWAYS"

And isn't the time 'after a great night out' that you should take a taxi, instead of driving ??

BTW, how about ..

http://www.lta.gov.sg/public_transport/ ... sed%29.pdf

Especially page 4 !!!

"Failing, without reasonable cause, to proceed to destination named by a passenger by shortest and most direct route"

And ..

"Terminating hiring of taxi or requiring passenger to leave taxi, without
reasonable excuse, before passenger is conveyed to destination"

[sanjivvohra]

Nah, not always, but mostly after 10pm around Boat/ Clark Quay.
Great night does not always translate into a drunken orgy, and if you do get into one, designated drivers help.

Some good experiences too, specially the one where the cabbi gave us a discourse on the gambling scene in Singapore and pretty much invited us to experience it with him (we declined politely).

Or the one who helped us carry our stuff upto the apartment when we relocated with 10 suitecases (three cabs - one decided to help us manage the transition from curb to lift to apartment).

Not so memorable, one who decided to take Fort Road (From Changi Airport) to Upper East Coast Road, and when I pointed it out to him, sheepishly reduced the fare.

[x9200]

Probably not but in many aspects this profession is in Singapore like a dumpster. There are some good taxi drivers around but it is maybe like 2% of the total (IMO of course), The rest are random people who don't really care about this job. Retirees seeking for an extra income, recently retrenched full of bitterness and blaming the others (esp. foreigners) that they have to do such job etc.

This is pretty much par for the course anywhere in the world

I can assure you it is not. This very much depends on the job market and how much the society is spoiled by the wealth or other factors (i.e. cultural).

[sanjivvohra]

This is pretty much par for the course anywhere in the world

I can assure you it is not. This very much depends on the job market and how much the society is spoiled by the wealth or other factors (i.e. cultural).

Well I must have missed all those countries where driving a cab is seen as a noble profession and people take it up as a profession worth bragging about.
2% good one I can understand. Anywhere. Beyond that, I have my doubts.

[ecureilx]

This is pretty much par for the course anywhere in the world

I can assure you it is not. This very much depends on the job market and how much the society is spoiled by the wealth or other factors (i.e. cultural).

Well I must have missed all those countries where driving a cab is seen as a noble profession and people take it up as a profession worth bragging about.
2% good one I can understand. Anywhere. Beyond that, I have my doubts.

In Singapore, Taxi driving is a profession reserved for Singaporeans ONLY .. DO I need to say more ??

Well, I had this chat with a sardarji guy from India, who said he wants to start a taxi company here, and employ Indians .. when I politely told him that Singaporeans are the only taxi drivers allowed here, he went ballistic and on to say "what a shameful country this is .. how could they not let Sardarji's drive taxi .. "

Thats' the smile of the day I guess ..