Taxi Drivers in Singapore

When I first moved to Singapore, I noticed that there always seemed to be a discussion going on at some point or some place about someone's experience with The Taxi Driver. Coming from Malaysia, where people drive everywhere and avoid taxis like the plague, I didn't understand why it was such an interesting OR fascinating topic of conversation.

But after being here for about three years, I've come to realise why people talk about taxi drivers so much over here. They really are quite fascinating...and also very frustrating. So before I start talking about my conversations with taxi drivers, I must first unleash a rant about them, so that the scene is set. Obviously since I don't take taxis that much in other countries, I don't know if taxi drivers are the same around the world - or Singaporean taxi drivers are unique.

So here's my rant.

And these are broad generalised statements...so for any Singaporean taxi drivers who read this and feel like I've maligned them with sweeping statements, I apologise.

1) They think that everyone on the road owes them a living
This means that if they want to swing into your lane ahead of you, then it's their right. This means that if they want to make a right or left turn from the wrong lane and cut across your lane when you're going straight, then it's their right.
This means that if they want to stop in the middle of the road to pick-up or drop-off a passenger, then it's their right.
This means that if they want to wait in a taxi queue for passengers even if it means blocking the entrance to a mall, then it's their right.

2) They don't earn enough money from standard metered fare - and it's your fault
This means that they try to maximise their income by making you pay as much as possible for your fare by stretching out the time you spend in their cab. They do this by:
- Getting stuck in traffic jams
- Getting stuck at traffic lights
- Getting stuck at the wrong lanes - or slow-moving lanes
- Getting stuck behind non-moving vehicles - or slow-moving vehicles

And although it's specified in the taxi driver code of conduct that they are required to ask their passengers which route they prefer to take, some of them don't. You see, if they don't ask for route preference, then they can take the longest possible route to get you to your destination.

And if you point out the fact that they've taken the long/wrong route, they pretend like they KNOW that there is a jam in the shorter route. Or that they didn't know that you wanted to go the shorter route (that's because they didn't ask to begin with!). Or that you hadn't communicated to them clearly enough. And then act all villified and victimised. Like it's YOUR fault that they've gone the route that costs you more!

3) They try to conserve fuel by alternating between accelarating and free-wheeling
So at some point or other, SOMEONE must have told A taxi driver that if you accelarate, and then free-wheel off that accelaration for the next 100 metres, it would save on fuel consumption. Now this means that they pay less for petrol, and pocket more of their fares. Sounds reasonable. So this taxi driver must have then told 10 other taxi driver mates, who then told another 10, who then told another 10. Word-of-mouth is very powerful amongst this circle.

And now about 90% of taxi drivers do that!

It wouldn't bother me so much how they drive...if I didn't suffer from motion sickness. The stop-start motion in this kind of taxi is enough to make you spew your guts out over taxi rides longer than 10 minutes. Sometimes even less, depending on how violently the driver accelarates. And to be honest...I wonder if this theory is even true?!! Did anyone bother to find out if this kind of driving actually saves on fuel consumption??? Did no one bother to question the very first taxi driver who came up with this theory???

4) They talk too much
Some taxi drivers leave you alone for the entire journey. You just need to get in, tell them where you want to go. If they ask which route you prefer (most times), you tell them. Then you can sit in peace and relax. Unless of course, you get a chatty taxi driver.

A Chatty Taxi Driver will talk to you whether you want to listen or not. Whether he has anything interesting to say or not. Whether you respond or not. Whether you understand him or not. In fact, he's not even talking TO you, he's talking AT you.

So what do they talk about? In order of likelihood and frequency:
- Conspiracy theories - usually relating to the 'gah-men' ('government')
- How they're not fairly compensated
- Casino - only due to the recent opening of Resorts World
- The World (Economy) Today

Which brings me to the topic of this blog. My conversations with taxi drivers. As I mentioned, sometimes they're not even conversations. It's a monologue on the taxi driver's part, with me making appropriate comments/noises during pauses. But every now and then, there is a gem of a conversation. Every now and then, I get into a conversation with a taxi driver and I find out things that I didn't know before. My most recent encounter with one of these taxi drivers prompted me to ask him to write a book about his theories and strategies. But he said that it would only create more competition if everyone knew his trade secrets.

So suddenly I'm inspired to write about the conversation and this taxi driver's point of view. Then I trawled through my memory banks to find other interesting conversations that I have had over the last few years. And then I realised that I've actually had quite a few of these! And here goes...