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Singapore has the world’s worst taxi drivers

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JayCee
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Post by JayCee » Sat, 18 Aug 2012 11:52 am

Brah wrote:
I'm noticing more an more how annoying some of the bus drivers, especially the men, are lately.
Agree 100%, the bus drivers here are mostly terrible, and the worst ones do seem to be the local guys.

I take the bus 4 times a day like SMS, mostly feeder service but sometimes more, and I've noticed a rise in bad attitude amongst the drivers too, arguing with passengers etc... My wife (who is 6 months pregnant yet gets a seat maybe half of the time, but that's a different discussion) was late for work the other day because the bus was full (no room for anyone to get on) yet the driver stopped at a stop for 5 minutes, didn't open the door and watched the people outside asking him to open up, then finaly opening the door to let one person on who he proceeded to abuse!

The taxi drivers here I've never had any major problems with, by and large they seem ok (some drive like nutters, but then so do most people here, it's just how it is). Quite often I have a chat with them about football, the universal language :D

The bus drivers are the ones they need to sort out, and the MRT drivers breaking really sharply too (which also seems to have increased)
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Post by sensei_ » Sat, 18 Aug 2012 5:32 pm

JayCee wrote: Agree 100%, the bus drivers here are mostly terrible, and the worst ones do seem to be the local guys.
wierdly i had a different experience, its the locals that seem to be more normal. the foreign drivers are just robotic. open door, collect fares, close door, drive. the foreign drivers dont even know the names of the places that they drive to. i remember clearly "Nicoll Highway" was met with the blankest stare ever.

there was one particular driver in tuas, she would greet every passenger that got on the bus. a rare but pleasant occurrence.

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v4jr4
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Post by v4jr4 » Sat, 18 Aug 2012 10:01 pm

JayCee wrote:Agree 100%, the bus drivers here are mostly terrible, and the worst ones do seem to be the local guys.
Seem to be the local? Hmmm . . . for me, it's really hard to tell if the driver is a local, or not local :?

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Post by sensei_ » Sun, 19 Aug 2012 11:34 am

the accent is enough to tell.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 19 Aug 2012 12:12 pm

That is very true, but may not be to a 3 month newbie. For long-stayers it's no problem.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by nutnut » Sun, 19 Aug 2012 4:31 pm

I generally don't talk to the drivers on buses - not cause they are beneath me or anything, just cause I don't want to distract them from their important jobs. Pray tell, how do you hear their accents?
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 19 Aug 2012 5:11 pm

For me, normally when is dismount and thank them for the safe journey. Often, if the bus isn't too crowded or if I'm standing in the front of the bus I'll dismount from the front exit. They appreciate it and with 50 are stanting at the busstop, often the drivers who get to know me, appreciate it and will deliberately stop in front of me to allow me the best choice if the bus has empty seats. Being nice has it's benefits as well. :-)
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

JayCee
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Post by JayCee » Sun, 19 Aug 2012 7:45 pm

v4jr4 wrote:
JayCee wrote:Agree 100%, the bus drivers here are mostly terrible, and the worst ones do seem to be the local guys.
Seem to be the local? Hmmm . . . for me, it's really hard to tell if the driver is a local, or not local :?
When they start to argue with passengers in Singlish, I'm pretty sure they're local :wink:
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Post by sensei_ » Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:21 pm

Or if they ask you to speak mandarin, you know you arent speaking with a local.

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Post by v4jr4 » Sun, 19 Aug 2012 11:32 pm

Mandarin... hmmm... PRC's dialect can be recognized easily. Singlish, however, is pretty common. Anyone can learn it quickly. For me, personally, dialect is not the main factor to recognize someone is a local or not :)

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Post by sensei_ » Mon, 20 Aug 2012 9:12 am

Which is why you listen for the accent. Anyone can throw out singlish, but can they also change their accent. Even as an Australian speaking mandarin/hokkien will always raise a few eyebrows

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Post by v4jr4 » Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:27 am

sensei_ wrote:Which is why you listen for the accent. Anyone can throw out singlish, but can they also change their accent. Even as an Australian speaking mandarin/hokkien will always raise a few eyebrows
Very! :lol:

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Post by vishalgupta2 » Mon, 20 Aug 2012 9:42 pm

zzm9980 wrote:
the lynx wrote:
vishalgupta2 wrote:
This scares the living daylight out of me. I never lived in South-west US just coz of Roaches (I admit this sounds stupid and probably un-wise, but I am just being honest).
I thought cockroaches are everywhere in the world, except the Antarctic and Artic :P
I saw more roaches my first month in Singapore than I did my entire life in the US. They were there, but not nearly as abundant thanks to the climate. I have no idea what the Southwest US has to do with roaches. Judging by the posters name and that theyre on this forum, I imagine they're either from Singapore or India, both places which should have significantly more roaches.
I lived in Boston Metrowest (in areas like Framingham, Marloborough, Nashua, Lincoln etc) and never saw a roach (deer ticks were fairly common though). Every time I traveled to my company's HQ in Austin, I was like, holy crap you are sending me on date with the roaches, the giant roaches.

Singapore is just fine.

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