Compulsory Chinese New Year Exercises.

Folks, I am not posting any blogs on Fri, Sat and maybe Sunday because of some spring cleaning and house painting exercises with Chinese New Year just around the corner.

Be back so stay tuned.

Cheers!

Enjoy Befriending Strangers.

It is so easy to make friends with strangers as a Taxi Driver. First of all, there is this endless opportunity to meet total strangers as we are service providers. We get to greet each other as soon as we meet when the strangers board our cabs. We start talking straightaway about going to a certain place and by which nearest route. Then, as we begin on our journey, we can easily enquire or ask the stranger whether he or she is on the way home or maybe if they had their dinner yet and so on. From the way they answer and reply, we will watch 'body language' and reactions, then continue and try to initiate a conversation by asking if they had a good or busy day or about the weather and also about popular local news such as train breakdowns, floodings and traffic jams. You can always be assured that these statements or remarks will immediately get you responses.

Other than the above, for instance, if I were to introduce myself as Singapore's first Taxi Blogger, this usually triggers the start of an exciting and enthusiastic conversation, and from then on, we would really start chatting as if we were friends already and depending on subjects spoken, we can both easily criticise, exclaim or just break into laughter together at the same time feeling comfortable about it.

The above has been my 'trademark' style of befriending a total stranger. I have always been a friendly person with a happy disposition and most importantly of all, I have the 'gift of the gab' which gives me an advantage in being able to make friends easily as a Cabbie.

Five In One.

On New Year's Eve I drove into Novena taxi stand and there were lots of commuters anxiously waiting for taxis, I guess it was much easier taking a train to Novena to enhance their chances of catching a cab after celebrating the 2012 Count Down at Marina Bay.

As soon as I stopped, five teenage girls quickly slipped into my cab. I turned to them and said "Hello, I'm so sorry, but I can only fetch four of you". They looked bewildered and surprised but did not say a word. I repeated and added "You did not even ask me if I could allow five of you to board, its against the law you know", to which one of them softly pleaded, "Uncle, please, we are just going nearby to Balestier Road hotel, please". All of them appeared resigned and tired and they looked so young, I just could not say no to them although its against the rules and regulations, anyway, its so nearby and I obliged.

I found out that they were young Indonesian students, three of them studying here and the other two were visitors. They alighted near Value Hotel just off Thomson Road which is about two bus stops away. The one sitting next to me, smiled and paid me $5.00 (metered fare was $4.20), "Uncle, keep the change", and as they alighted, one by one thanked and wished me Happy New Year loud and clear. I wished them the same in return and felt happy about it.

Demand Greater Than Supply.

This is the third day into year 2012 and no passengers ferried by me spoke up about the new Taxi Fare Hikes, not even small talk except for a very minor comment made by a woman commuter on a very short trip over her metered fare of $4.80 which still remains the lowest fare I have collected so far.

The end of two long holiday weekends and with the new school term starting today, taxi usage will slow down a bit, maybe for a short while and pick up swiftly again with the Chinese Lunar New Year just around the corner. Shopping and eating out remains the top activities during this coming festive season.

Brace yourselves for a huge shortage of taxis come Chinese New Year as most Chinese taxi drivers take long breaks during this period to spend time with family and friends which in turn will definitely see a great demand for taxis. Each year as usual, the minority Nationals manning their taxis enjoy great 'Field Days' with pocketful of "Ang Pows".

 

Continuous Vibrant Festive Celebrations Into 2012.

Chinatown, swarmed with 'Dragons' together with a host of activities, was 'lighted' up last night and this signals the start of a fresh series in festivals 'Light Up' rituals in Singapore, to be followed by many more new and exciting ones to come for Year 2012. These 'Lighting Up' events are expected features in Singapore's style of welcoming and celebrating its numerous cultural and religious festivals with elaborate decorations and colourful lightings covering over large popular stretches of roads all over the island throughout the whole year.

Its during these periods of celebrations that Taxi Drivers enjoy a substantial increase in their take home pay. Huge crowds of people from all walks of life including foreign workers and the continuous influx of tourists from all over the world have contributed to making life slightly easier and more rewarding for all cabbies.

This Christmas and New Year have brought on unprecedented hugh gatherings everywhere, in shopping centres, food courts, Orchard Road, Resorts World Sentosa and especially at the Marina Bay area. Throngs of holiday makers celebrating and welcoming the New Year Countdown and the spectacular fireworks display have created such a fabulous and vibrant atmosphere and not only that, the excitement, the hectic activities of ushering in the Chinese Lunar New Year have already begun.

It is truly a 'Bonanza' period, together with the recent newly implemented Fare Hikes this time of year, albeit very hard and tedious work for all active Taxi Drivers.

Pleasant and Wonderful Working Day.

I was very busy last night ferrying passengers mostly on long trips. The fares that I collected ranged between $11 to $23 except an odd one at $4.80 and also over the shortest trip. It was not a bad day's taking for me, above average.

All my passengers throughout the night did not even mention a word nor commented about the taximeter fare increases. They were very pleasant except for the one that paid the least fare. There were three of them, two women and a man, in their sixties I presumed. One of the women hinted just before they alighted in Hokkien "Taxi buay sai chay" meaning "Taxi cannot sit". These four words spoken in Hokkien literally meant that taxis can no longer be used. I kept quiet because the fare she paid might have been sixty cents more than usual. Apart from this very slight remark, all went well with no other dissatisfactions shown.

Tonight is going to be another hectic workday for me, being the Eve of the last day of year 2011.

To Everyone, Friends, Followers and Viewers of my Blogspot, I wish you all "A Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 2012!".

New Taximeter Fares.

Today Premier Taxis, all Silver Cabs will be on the roads with their taximeters fully adjusted to the new fare structures similar to Comfort Delgo and SMRT present fares.  All Taxi Companies have raised their fares except for Prime Taxi who are still awaiting their Taxi Drivers' discussions and opinions before deciding on making any changes.

Today, I will be looking forward to experience passengers awareness and comments for my new taximeter fares. I feel that the impact of the Fare Hikes have subsided somewhat and business have continued to be like what it was before. Strangely enough though, for the past two weeks, I did have some queries and gripes about the increases but they number less than ten questions or so and that too, from rather mild statements of acceptances and feelings about being comfortable or not when paying their revised fares.

This is the last Friday and Saturday of year 2011 and I am excited and rearing to go. Its going to be hard work and I expect non-stop ferrying of passengers as well as a long awaited year end bonus.

Bright and Busy Days Ahead.

Three more days to go and it will be 2012, 'Dragons' are already swarming the Chinatown area even before the Chinese Lunar New Year arrives.

Last couple of weeks and the coming January month, this particular period of the end and the beginning of old and new years is packed with endless human activities imaginable, everyday and everywhere. Taxis during this time are enjoying full usage and very much in demand, so much so, complaints about the recent fare increases are hardly heard nor discussed. Yes, I have not engaged in talks about the recent Fare Hikes lately and it looks like it has already died down, which is good.

Full steam ahead for us Taxi Drivers and it is truly going to be a Happy New Year 2012.

Taxi Drivers Need More Protection.

The Year of the Dragon is just around the corner and so, what new adventures do you think the Dragon will have in store for us in 2012? Hopefully not a repetition of continuous rainfall, floodings, breakdowns, Violent Attacks on Taxi Drivers, bombings, senseless killings of innocents and etc like yesteryear. As for Fare Hikes, I can safely say that it will take another four or five years before something 'new' comes up again.

On Christmas Eve, a 47 year old Taxi Driver was bashed on the head with a wine bottle by one of two passengers when they claimed that the Taxi Driver took a longer route. This violent behaviour is uncalled for, anyway, police investigations are still ongoing.

In another recent case, on Dec. 16, a Taxi was stolen right in front of a crowded coffee shop at Lorong 29 in Geylang. The thief managed to jump into the taxi and drive off in it when the woman Taxi Driver decided to stop for a few minutes to have a cup of coffee. She left her taxi with the engine still running and was hardly 10m away, all this while, her eyes were on her cab but when she was paying for her drink and not looking, her taxi disappeared. Till today, her taxi has still not been found.

The Authorities should mete out tougher punishments against Violent Taxi bullies to safeguard the livehoods of Taxi Drivers. There are many recent attacks on Taxi Drivers, with many more unreported ones, but these Violent Taxi Attacks and Abuses must not be taken lightly. I can imagine Taxi Drivers taking matters into their own hands by equiping themselves with unlikely 'tools' in future for self-protection and may even 'retaliate' when provoked.
These are serious thoughts.

Season's Contagious Breakdowns.

The night before Christmas eve, my taxi's air-conditioner broke down, a gas leakage as it began blowing hot air instead. Had to send the taxi to the workshop to get it fixed quickly and as soon as possible the next day. It took four and the half hours to repair the leak as well as to refill gas. As agreed, my Relief Driver had the unenvious task to see to the repairs and luckily, Saturday morning the workshop was opened for half a day and so, his entire shift was burnt, but, he did not have to pay his shift rental and fuel charges incurred as this was to be totally borne by me.

As the next and night shift operator, I had to drive long and hard to recover costs and loss of earnings, so, after the end of a very tiring workday, I had already driven nearly 400 kilometres, to be exact, 387 km, able to pay the full day's rental, cost of fuel and still managed to earn a nett income of $50.00. But unfortunately, after I had finished work and was returning home, I discovered that my cab's speedometer had stopped functioning. Again another breakdown headache.

Christmas Day and Boxing Day were both public holidays and the motor workshop was closed for the weekend and so, no repairs could be be done till Tuesday. My Relief Driver and I had no choice but to just drive without the use of the speedometer for the next two days. The taximeter was in good order and that was very important but the speedometer kept emitting a 'beep-beep' sound off and on which was most irritating whilst we worked.

The two days have passed by quickly and this morning, my Relief Driver have to drive the taxi to the workshop to get the speedometer repaired, hopefully it will not take too long or else I will have to bear the full cost of rental and fuel once more, not to mention a repeat of another hard day's work.

This is the first time in all my years as a Taxi Driver that such break downs occurred which have made this Christmas season most unfruitful for me. Somehow, I feel as though the recent MRT train breakdowns could have been contagious.