How did you survive the recessions as a TD?

Sandisct SG

Can the lao jiaos here share with us the newbies here how did you survive the recent 2 recessions (2003 n 2007) as a TD? Did the taxi ridership drop? on average how much lesser did you get per month?

Poolman SG

How i survive ?

For me , that is absolutely no recession for me , maybe for us .

Now it's worst than recession , to be honest .

Year 2000 , there is no Silver , no TransCab , no Prime , nothing !

Only the miserable Comfort , CityCab and Yellow Top .

Recession ? Still only 3.5m population .

Flag down only $2.60 .

Peak hour $1 .

That's all , 50% midnight .

Finished , fuck la what recession ?

Poolman SG

Year 2007 ? Recession ?

Then the fuck'in govermnent up the peak hour fare to 35% ?

Poolman SG

What crisis do i really encountered ?

Poolman SG

So tactics all change for me .

First few days of SARS ..... taxi totally no taker .

No choice must take to cover rental , i scared pax .

Pax also scared me .

They put mask cos they scared , i also scared dun picked .

I put mask , cos i scared , they saw mask , they dun flag , wtf .

5pm start , 10pm , just $45 .

Poolman SG

But during SARS , paxes at Tuas still calling taxis like mad .

Why ?

Cos many return taxis , and shake legs at home .

Many throw back keys to hirer , cos no make money , drive what ?

The reliefs just dun want to be a slave for hirer , so they throw key back , and rest at home shake legs better .

Poolman SG

Back to the economy downturn .

I realized , not all company cut taxi cost .

Many remain .

My performance were consistant .

Cos i realized many companies worked triple hard when downturn , to savage the sitiuation .

Not all shun taxis .

Especially for those whose taxi fare caa be claimed .

Maybe that's for night shift .

Day shift may affect a bit , cos most pay from their own pocket .

Poolman SG

How bad the economy was , those who are hardworking , still manageable .

Never in my life my wages goes below 2k .

Except for the SARS period , i got 1.4k .

Poolman SG

Right now , the main challenge is not the economy , economy only affects big companies , not cabbies .

Only the taxi population played a big role in those differences .

And the taxi pricing .

The government can kill off cabbies , by just adjusting ridiculous fare structure like 35% peak hour surcharge .

But again , they have to consider the impact their babies from Temasek Holding can suffered .

He SG

I hate the evening peak hour surcharge. Think its a bloody lose-lose situation for us and consumers. Morning still ok cos people wake up late LL must take cab rush to work. I just find it incredulous that taking a midnight cab often end up cheaper than taking one during the so-called peak hours.

A C MAX SG

Truth, last night while driving and lady pax from carnhill rise to lucky plaza i drove along scotts road and i saw far east plaza lonq u for taxi but when i came to lucky plaza to drop off pax saw taxi long q but few pax simply cause the 3 dollars surcharge if u ask me i say scrap the surcharge but for some the $3 is always there on mind just live with it cheers

Poolman SG

Most drivers hated evening peak hour , but some really favours them . 35% big deal .

Not for me , i would rather go for 20% , and have a better connection .

Poolman SG

But stick to the economy downturn issue .

Just_do_it_lah SG

The recession ( or down turn of economy ) normally comes around every 7 years....

but recently = becos of 911 (2001 WTC attack) and US frauduent in accounting = lots of international mergers of big corporations worldwide (including Singapore).

then came in the SARs period (in Q1-2003) when Singapore is about to recover from the setback.. hence plunged into a Recession within Recession.

The US mortgage crisis created another World Recession (2007-08) = to the Great Depression (in 1929). the tide is not over yet... currently Europe is having their mini-recessions as countries like Greece, Portugal are facing big debts.

Just hold tight (your steering wheel)... lower down your daily income expectations (of revenue).. no need to push all the way... (got health, got wealth).... Good luck to all. The Toughest will survive = POOLMAN, TCL.. haha. (don't forget to buy Toto on Thursday, 1.5million draw).

komade SG

Hav a "Never Say DIe" attitude....... ;)

Just_do_it_lah SG

The Cycle of recession can be detected from financial markets (ie, equities, gold, crude oil prices).

EVERY 7 Years come a cycle for the market to take a breather...

Taking the great depression in 1929 for example, it took almost 10 years for USA to recovery fully to pre-crisis levels.. ( and they got the World War 2 to thanks... becos USA created a lot of war machines - hence, lots of labour was required )....

The recently US Mortgage crisis was a meltdown to all financial markets world-wide, hence it can be compared with the Great Depression of 1929.

Luckily for Singapore, the govt agreed to build 2 Intergated Resorts ...to attracts in more visitors... and hence more trips for TDs.

IF you feel (felt) your income drops recently, I sincerely believed you are NOT THE ONLY ONE.....

With the World Cup programme already finished, the GST rebates also finished (spend), TDs need to wait for 26-27 of the month... Pay Day for workers.... lol.

Just do the normal and hope for the best... Cheers.

Poolman SG

so it come back to experience .

which day of the month , u must go where to find paxes ?

which day of the mth u shouldn't go where ?

What day got auditor at Jurong or Tuas ?

which month of the year , which companies did major audit , those auditors from which coy ? E & Y , PWC ? or KPMG ?

And from there , u dig gold .

And which day , no matter what economy circumstances , surely got people ?

An experience u cannot get from any text book .

All's in the head .

Poolman SG

That is why , in taxi driving , the older u are , the better it is !

PhD ? Degree ? Boss of ex-company ?

When come to taxi driving , all back to SQ-1 , start from scratch .

And how good u are , depends on how good your analyse , your technics , your skills , your endurance and your stamina .

All into one .

An advantage if u are a fighter !! Never say die fighter !!

Many said taxi ? Luck la .

I beg to differ .

Some used their stamina as their strength , just whack .

Some used ruthless to curb stamina .

Some used observations to curb stamina and ruthless .

Alot man , to really say it ......

Keep asking yourself those question , and give yourself some answers , will do you more good than harm .

Only lousy drivers need luck .

We are businessman , entrepreneurship mentallity .

We do what fit our pocket at the end of the day .

Each one of us has got different analyse , thus different technics .

It's still the end day income that matter most .

We treat Economy downturn as a challenge .

Treat it like a war front .

Fight like a warrior .

Poolman SG

Believe this theory and used it on your future driving .

If u think Poolman talking cock , thanks for reading .

komade SG

That is why , in taxi driving , the older u are , the better it is !

PhD ? Degree ? Boss of ex-company ?

When come to taxi driving , all back to SQ-1 , start from scratch .

And how good u are , depends on how good your analyse , your technics , your skills , your endurance and your stamina .

All into one .

An advantage if u are a fighter !! Never say die fighter !!

Many said taxi ? Luck la .

I beg to differ .

Some used their stamina as their strength , just whack .

Some used ruthless to curb stamina .

Some used observations to curb stamina and ruthless .

Alot man , to really say it ......

Keep asking yourself those question , and give yourself some answers , will do you more good than harm .

Only lousy drivers need luck .

We are businessman , entrepreneurship mentallity .

We do what fit our pocket at the end of the day .

Each one of us has got different analyse , thus different technics .

It's still the end day income that matter most .

We treat Economy downturn as a challenge .

Treat it like a war front .

Fight like a warrior .

Yah its a war out there everyday...... :P