Bring in foreign cabbies

105090 SG

not just FT...

once i was in Bangkok. most of the taxi drivers comes from some unknown north east province.. so naturally, they wont know the roads of bangkok very well..

in the end ask them go this place also they dont know..

if locals cant, foreigners even worse rite?

oxford mushroom SG

haha...you think driving a cab is rocket science huh? With a GPS in every cab and a week's training, anyone with a license can drive a cab. I'll bet foreign workers earning $600-800 a month currently would provide far better service and work much harder than you lot.

Flood the market with foreign cabbies and we will have plenty of cabs at low fares.

oxford mushroom SG

Bring in foreign cabbies who are more hungry and are prepared to work for less. The queues at Changi will still be there but it will be longer because of competition. More cabbies around will mean more will be forced to ply the streets to pick up the $5 fare rather than queue up at Changi for 2 hours only to collect a fare to Changi.

Everyone tried to maximize earnings...that's why the government should stop protecting local cabbies who are not giving Singaporeans a good service. Flood the market with foreigners who are prepared to accept less and the competition will drive down taxi fares.

Remove all surcharges and booking fees like in UK. There are plenty of bangladeshi and pakistani cab drivers here in an angmo country. There is no added charges for booking a cab and the fare is lower than the big london cabs operated by mainly local british drivers who are required to pass a difficult examination. London cabs are allowed to ply the streets. Small taxi cabs driven by mainly foreigners can only respond to booking. That is a better system for us.

Even doctors have to compete with doctors from Myanmar, India etc. and local radiologists have to compete with those from Bangalore. Why not cabbies? Don't tell me Singaporeans will not accept foreign cabbies when they are prepared to take a prescription from a Burmese doctor!

Bring in the foreign cabbies!

Kuali Baba SG

Is this competition for just its own sake, or are we trying to solve a problem here? If it's the latter I've already shown you that it's more than just a problem with the drivers.

'A better system for us' - us being people in England or people in Singapore? Don't you realise that London cabs form part of the tourism image? Then obviously having local drivers who knows the way around and can chat to passengers is desirable. Furthermore they don't have insane overheads to cover - we have ridiculous diesel taxes, among other things which are then passed on to cabbies in the form of their daily rent.

A few months ago, I sat in the front passenger's seat with a lady driver who was illegally covering for her brother, as he was the owner of the taxi but was ill. If things are as easy as you claim, I wonder why they took their chances.

Now why don't you get 'round to addressing my points properly? Wink

Poolman SG

Singaporeans , don't know why , for whatever reason , they always shunned private yellow top taxis .... and chose other taxis if situation allows them to chose taxis .... like midnight cases .

so , not a good idea .....

Many people here will agree , if they allow to chose , private yellow top , will be their very last option .

I know cos i am from ComfortDelgro's Yellow Top Cab fleet , i also kena , other mistaken i am a private yellow top .

Poolman SG

Talk cork sing song la ....hahahah GPRS ..... i can give a PhD an electronic map , and they also will be lost in Singapore !!!!

U must process the basic road knowledge in Singapore before u can actually use the electronic map .....

Just like u can give a mountaineer a GPRS equipment to Mt Everest , do u think they can still make it , without possessing the basic knowledge of tracking ?

An example .... if one at Woodlands , going to The Summit ..... got up a taxi and say : " The Summit please ! "

Add : " please go by ECP ! " ......

woodlands got ECP meh ?? U may ask .....

That's what i am saying !

So OM , let me ask u a question , how do u go to ECP via woodland ! The shortest route please ..... Anyone can also give me an answer ....

Poolman SG

let me remind u guys , GPRS will show ur location , and destination , but will not show u the shortest route ….. so which is the shortest route ?

oxford mushroom SG

And I disagree with your analysis. Despite overheads like the rental and diesel costs, cab drivers easily earn $1200 a month...ask Poolman to deny that. He will tell you he can earn double the amount with one eye closed.

I say our cab drivers are too spoilt. I am certain foreign workers who are prepared to accept $600 a month working under the hot sun at construction sites are more than willing to accept double that pay driving a cab.

Bring in foreign cabbies and the competition will keep taxi fares low and service standards high. Those who cannot compete will drop out from the market, so they should.

oxford mushroom SG

Let me remind you, plenty of dishonest cabbies purposely take the longest route.

GPS is now able to compute the shortest routes and real-time information can be fed into the system to take into account traffic accidents etc...modern GPS can re-compute the best route in view of latest traffic information.

oxford mushroom SG

Once we implement GPS in all taxis, there will be no need to argue about which route to take. Legislation will make it a requirement that all taxi drivers follow the route spelt out by the GPS system, which will independently and objectively compute the shortest route.

Modern systems will also allow reat-time information on traffic condiions to be fed into it.

Cocky cabbies like Poolman need to starve a little...flood thye market with foreign cabbies and local taxi drivers will be forced to work harder or lose their jobs.

Time for the government to stop protecting local cab drivers.

Kuali Baba SG

I won't ask where you plucked that payslip from, but surely you can't claim that to be a comfortable amount to get by with.

By all means employ the foreign drivers since they don't have a family here. Now tell me where you plan to have those local drivers get put out of work employed?

What's stopping taxi companies from raising their fares again, citing the cost of installing and maintaining on-board navigation systems?

And you still haven't addressed my point about tired drivers being road hazards. When your eyes and ears are not truly on the ground here and observing it's easy for you to dismiss people as 'spoilt'.

Poolman SG

Hello , u got take taxi or not ?

The system GPS now never will tell u which road to use la , wake up !

Navigation ... for instructions ...

C-ocky people like u deserve to wait 1 hour for a taxi , i only serve those who deserve more , and willing to pay more ..... that's what taxi is all about , right ?

It's a luxury .... want to use luxury , dun wan to pay ?

U stay Singapore how long ? 3 years ? Singapore where got so good one ? Wake up !

Today's forum , LTA reply , it's all about Market Forces ....

They just can't increase the fare just for the sake of increasing the fare ....

There is more consideration to be done .

Anyway ..... OM can go dream on about this issue ..... join the Worker's Party lor .... PAP won't do that anyway ..... over my dead body lor ....

Hahahahaha....... why don't u drive a taxi for a day , and see whether Singapore really need foreigners ..... to mess our road system up ! Hahahaha....

Have a life ..... stop dreaming over this issue , have a life for god's sake , u're possessed , hahhahhahaha

Poolman SG

Volvo , think we should not waste time on this topic …... have a nice day , close it !!!

Poolman SG

Proposition also dun know what is a GPs , what to talk ?

I suggest someone get ComfortDelgro to provide a GPS info for OM , so he can really shut his F-ucking mouth up about GPS ! Hahahaha

Dunno what's a GPS , then stop talking c-ock like a professor !!!

mancha SG

GPS = Global Positioning System

It will just show a dot, or star on the digital map indicating where you are.

As for indicating the route to a destination, a separate localised software is needed. The software can be developed to show the shortest distance, the shortest time, or the cheapest fare from Point A to Point B. At the moment such a software can be seen in TV dramas/movies only. Although a prototype have been developed in Europe, it is more a distraction to driving than a helpful navigation equiptment. It don't always work accurately.
Even the GPS sometimes fails.

LazerLordz SG

I can't believe you guys are wasting your breath on a joke. Laughing

oxford mushroom SG

Now the tourists are also complaining....time for the Singapore government to stop protecting the lazy local cabbies and bring in foreigners!

Singapore cabbies puzzle HK visitor
THE taxi situation in Singapore has reached another low point.
Admittedly, I am spoilt by Hong Kong, where all you need to do is raise your arm and a taxi would stop and the door open, rarely beyond a two-minute wait.

And this is regardless of where you hail a cab.

With the cabbies, it is customer satisfaction first, even if they do not comply with traffic regulations all the time.

In Singapore, not only did I find myself in endless queues on my recent visit, but taxi drivers also kept stopping to ask would-be passengers where they were headed. They would then shake their head and drive off.

Do cabbies take on passengers only if the route is convenient to them?

Who is the customer and who is the one who is supposed to provide a service?

In no other city I know of can a taxi driver reject a customer based on his destination.

I could only shake my head in disbelief.

Michael Gleissner
Hong Kong

Straits Times, 29 June

oxford mushroom SG

Time you wake up to the new reality...get yourself a tibo if you haven't seen the new generation of GPS systems..voice instructions will direct you to your destination, even if you are as dense as you appear to be.

Haha...whose votes do you think the government needs more? From ungrateful cabbies who rant incessantly against the government? Why should the government protect the livelihood for this bunch of lazy losers? Local cabbies need to starve a little and see what foreign cabbies can and are willing to do.

oxford mushroom SG

Technology has improved a great deal and one big advantage is, unlike dishonest cab drivers, technology does not set itself out to deceive.

LazerLordz SG

Technology does not deceive, but the driver still operates the cab.

FYI, TiBo is old news. Rolling Eyes I assume you have not been to CommunicAsia 2007.

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