Bring in foreign cabbies
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If you say that first hand accounts from cabbies across all the major taxi ranks are BS, then I can tell you that whatever people fling into the ST forum can be construed as third hand information they glean from their experience as well.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:What a joke! Go read the forum page. The problem is not the booking system. There is no rule that requires a cabbie to throw a passenger out to accept a booking when his taxi is occupied. Check your information and not just rely on old wives' tales.
Local cab drivers are just not hungry enough to work harder. People have some experience with gardening will know that many plants do not flower if you water them too well and give too much fertilizers. They will grow leaves but not flowers. You have to starve them a little..it's the stress that makes them flower. It's the same with local cab drivers...you've got to starve them a little.
Flood the market with foreign cab drivers. If this lot will not work harder for the current fare, there are plenty of bangladeshi, indian and chinese workers who would!
ST forum is another place for consumers to simply bitch about their problems. Any verification needed? Probably same as what you and I write on a web forum.
Use some intellect in your reasoning for once and stop thinking that you can get around arguments so speciously.
Your argument that our cabbies are too free, is simply an opinion, and frankly, I don't think you have any place nor credibility to claim more marginal accuracy than those who live and work in Singapore at the moment.
Like I said, care to address the fact that foreign cabbies won't operate the same way under current management policies?The only way that this might even remotely succeed is to allow greater private taxi ownership and reduce the industrial grip of the companies.
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Greater private taxi ownership? More yellow-top cabs, you mean?
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Simple...demand and supply...Flood the market with foreign cabbies and the competition will force everyone (local cabbies included) to work harder. They have to pay the rental for their taxis...with greater competition, they will not have the luxury to play 'hide and seek'. Before, during and after the peak periods, they will be out there working.Originally posted by LazerLordz:Like I said, care to address the fact that foreign cabbies won't operate the same way under current management policies?The only way that this might even remotely succeed is to allow greater private taxi ownership and reduce the industrial grip of the companies.
Bringing in foreign competition will work. The government knows it, taxi companies know it and the cabbies know it. The government should stop protecting the jobs of an ungrateful lot and let them face up to global competition like the rest of us. -
agree x3Originally posted by Kuali Baba:Are you talking about introducing a foreign player to set up a taxi company that hires foreigners, OM?
If not, what makes you so certain that taxi companies will reduce their fares when they bring in cheaper drivers? They may as well sustain the rates and enjoy the bigger profit margins.
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sadly no ..... it will not happen ...Originally posted by iveco:Greater private taxi ownership? More yellow-top cabs, you mean?
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u think supermarket ah ??? hahahaha... sell fish ar ???Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Simple...demand and supply...Flood the market with foreign cabbies and the competition will force everyone (local cabbies included) to work harder. They have to pay the rental for their taxis...with greater competition, they will not have the luxury to play 'hide and seek'. Before, during and after the peak periods, they will be out there working.
Bringing in foreign competition will work. The government knows it, taxi companies know it and the cabbies know it. The government should stop protecting the jobs of an ungrateful lot and let them face up to global competition like the rest of us.
Give u 2 choices ....
One is driven by a Singaporean , one is driven by a Bangala , who ? in commuter view , u chose to pick u up ? Of all the same flag-down ??
I wondering in time to come , who is the one to hide ???
They earn $20 and hide , or we earn $100 and hide ? hahahahah.....
Nevermind ... bring them in to take stingy street customer , who cannot afford to call-and-book a cab type .... people like u and those St Forumers
, then let u all chose who is the most prefer race of drivers !!
Hahahahaha , i still have my pool of Corprorate customers to take booking from ..... ya la ya la ..... u and ur fish market theory , hahahaha
Lelong ar lelong Kuning fish !!!!!!!! hHAHAHAHA .... -
Can someone sent this thread to LTA ?
c/c Lee Hsien Loong , Ng eng Hen , Lim Swee Say etc .....
And tell them Poolman Uncle me is a Comfort driver ..... -
Actually , booking is meant for urgent cases for transport ..... but commuters , kiasu commuters set-up the trend , abuse the facility until the situation like that .....Originally posted by LazerLordz:What for go to all this trouble?
Start with the taxi companies and regulate them properly and forcefully.
Do away with the automated booking allocation system and ensure that a booking quota be introduced per taxi for peak hours, to prevent taxis from accumulating bookings and ensuring that there are more taxis for flag-down trips. Cut the night rental fees by 40-50% as well, to ensure that taxi drivers are not penalised and therefore need to accumulate booking fees to level out.
(Can someone clarify the proportion of the booking fee that goes to the driver?)
Secondly, raise the booking fee to $6 to ensure that people do not book on a whim and fancy. That should sieve out those who book out of convenience and those who can afford. The law of averages should straighten things out.
Instead of simply playing the salary game which will not enhance the profession, sort out the management first. Leave the workers alone. Bringing in a foreign player will not solve anything. What makes you think they won't play the same game? It is puerile and wishful thinking that they will play a wage game if there is no regulatory action.
True , raise the booking to $6 , i agree , but cannot take out the facility totally , must think consideration for those people who .... like those people staying like Sunset Way ... very deep in , where taxis never go in , to provide them with a facility .
Also like those staying at Coronation Road West , no buses , only cars and taxis as transport , they will need a cab when they go to the airport , so booking is a must .
When a pricing is set-up , taxi company also must consider this , whether the pricing will caused a set-back , like causing more drivers to quit . Which they can't afford ....
There must be a balance .
Every $4.00 booking , $0.70 goes to the company , for every $2.50 booking , $0.40 goes to the company .
Nothing is free .
Comfort Delgro generate 14.1 million of booking last year , each bookings they took $0.50 , imagine their revenue ? 7.05 million for the facility ..... tell them to take away the state-of-the-art award winning booking facility , like stealing away $5 million from them .... -
Taxis are not Duracell bunnies. They use diesel and the drivers have to pay for it. On top of that the daily rental is already $90 for a Crown, and goes up to $130 for a Merc. If the area they happen to be in isn't known to have a strong demand for taxis, why would they want to hunt high-and-low for passengers when they can save fuel?Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Simple...demand and supply...Flood the market with foreign cabbies and the competition will force everyone (local cabbies included) to work harder. They have to pay the rental for their taxis...with greater competition, they will not have the luxury to play 'hide and seek'. Before, during and after the peak periods, they will be out there working.
Why do you think there are so many taxis waiting at the airport? There's the airport surcharge that they can benefit from, while the next nearest passengers are some distance away.
There are drivers who do try to explain to their passengers that they've already turned down their last booking before they get penalised. Even if they don't explain or are lying, they're trying to maximise their takings, just as in the previous examples.
As for the pre-midnight situation, perhaps cabbies are reluctant to make an early appearance because that would reduce the number of customers in the queue by the time a more significant surcharge kicks in, and that will affect other cabbies (and themselves if they make a return trip).
I'm not trying to justify for certain unacceptable (to demanding commuters) behaviour, but not acknowledging these reasons would be an injustice to drivers who are trying to make an honest living. It's more than just an issue of a "lack of competition".
Also, foreign drivers have an inherent advantage. They remit money to their families back home, where the costs of living are lower, but local drivers have to support their immediate families here. Thus the former will be able to get by with fewer takings. Will a local driver be able to cope realistically?
Finally, wouldn't you also agree that tired cabbies made to drive extra hours for their dough are a greater hazard on the roads as well? -
That would be better..but..alamak..Originally posted by Poolman:sadly no ..... it will not happen ... -
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? -
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.Originally posted by Poolman:u think supermarket ah ??? hahahaha... sell fish ar ???
Give u 2 choices ....
One is driven by a Singaporean , one is driven by a Bangala , who ? in commuter view , u chose to pick u up ? Of all the same flag-down ??
I wondering in time to come , who is the one to hide ???
They earn $20 and hide , or we earn $100 and hide ? hahahahah.....
Nevermind ... bring them in to take stingy street customer , who cannot afford to call-and-book a cab type .... people like u and those St Forumers
, then let u all chose who is the most prefer race of drivers !!
Hahahahaha , i still have my pool of Corprorate customers to take booking from ..... ya la ya la ..... u and ur fish market theory , hahahaha
Lelong ar lelong Kuning fish !!!!!!!! hHAHAHAHA ....
Flood the market with foreign cabbies and we will have plenty of cabs at low fares. -
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.Originally posted by Kuali Baba:Taxis are not Duracell bunnies. They use diesel and the drivers have to pay for it. On top of that the daily rental is already $90 for a Crown, and goes up to $130 for a Merc. If the area they happen to be in isn't known to have a strong demand for taxis, why would they want to hunt high-and-low for passengers when they can save fuel?
Why do you think there are so many taxis waiting at the airport? There's the airport surcharge that they can benefit from, while the next nearest passengers are some distance away.
There are drivers who do try to explain to their passengers that they've already turned down their last booking before they get penalised. Even if they don't explain or are lying, they're trying to maximise their takings, just as in the previous examples.
As for the pre-midnight situation, perhaps cabbies are reluctant to make an early appearance because that would reduce the number of customers in the queue by the time a more significant surcharge kicks in, and that will affect other cabbies (and themselves if they make a return trip).
I'm not trying to justify for certain unacceptable (to demanding commuters) behaviour, but not acknowledging these reasons would be an injustice to drivers who are trying to make an honest living. It's more than just an issue of a "lack of competition".
Also, foreign drivers have an inherent advantage. They remit money to their families back home, where the costs of living are lower, but local drivers have to support their immediate families here. Thus the former will be able to get by with fewer takings. Will a local driver be able to cope realistically?
Finally, wouldn't you also agree that tired cabbies made to drive extra hours for their dough are a greater hazard on the roads as well?
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! -
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.Originally posted by oxford mushroom: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!
'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?
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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 .Originally posted by LazerLordz:That would be better..but..alamak..
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 . -
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 .... -
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 ?
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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.Originally posted by Kuali Baba: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?
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. -
Let me remind you, plenty of dishonest cabbies purposely take the longest route.Originally posted by Poolman: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 ?
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. -
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.Originally posted by Poolman: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 ....
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. -
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.Originally posted by oxford mushroom: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.
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'. -
Hello , u got take taxi or not ?Originally posted by oxford mushroom: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.
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 -
Volvo , think we should not waste time on this topic ...... have a nice day , close it !!!
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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 !!! -
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.