Taxi driver with good attitude makes $5k a month

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

regardless their people look generally happier and more relaxed than singgies

Those countires play Robin Hood. No thanks.

 

[cass888]

regardless their people look generally happier and more relaxed than singgies

Still, thanks but no thanks. No taxes to play Robbing Hood.

 

[SamuelStalin]

Better quality of life is due to socialist populace, with big chunk on social security net. Some countries can afford more than others ie Norway's north sea oil. Still, you get migrant workers from eastern europe.

Back to taxis, cabbies there are more of resident FI (foreign import) -likes from south asia origin ie paks, india etc

This is why I feel Portfolio Robinrose is unfair to compare like this because these European countries are bigger, have much more land and natural resources compared to Singapore.

 

[SamuelStalin]

regardless their people look generally happier and more relaxed than singgies

You seem to want to insist on this. And you seem to feel sad too when you shared that suicide analyst's belief that Singapore is great if you are an elite. Obviously you aren't, well, very extremely rich or very extremely successful in your life thus you feel this way. If you reached those high positives I am very confident that your view of life would have been much more brighter than what it is now. Every man for himself, is that not so? A festering toothache is more important to you than millions who die of starvation in Africa, is this not true?

Also, I believe you are quite unfair to compare like this because these European countries are bigger, have much more land and natural resources compared to Singapore. Like Brunei also, and Saudi Arabia if you want.

 

[Angelo]

Dog Alert !!

 

[SamuelStalin]

Dog Alert !!

Spastic donkey ALERT!!!

The name of this spastic donkey is Angelo.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

i speak from personal experience...there is alot of good that we can learn from the scandanavians...and contrary to what some might think, generally and relatively speaking scandanavians are hard workers...but at the sametime they also realise the importance of work life balance and quality family life...they work hard and also play hard...they live and experience life... and they do this without foreign maids...

You seem to want to insist on this.

perhaps i may have been more inclined to agree with you in the past...but not now when ho ching and her daddy in law play 'casino games' with our money

Also, I believe you are quite unfair to compare like this because these European countries are bigger, have much more land and natural resources compared to Singapore. Like Brunei also, and Saudi Arabia if you want.

 

[yinyang]

i speak from personal experience...contrary to what some might think, generally and relatively speaking scandanavians are hard workers...but at the sametime they also realise the importance of work life balance and quality family life...they work hard and also play hard...they live and experience life... and they do this without foreign maids...

Work life balance and quality of life maybe. Better to segment 3 nations ie Sweden, Norway and Denmark (last 1, more continental types). Example, Norway has great outdoors akin to NZ, opposite end of equator) albeit winters can be miserable (unless you are into skiing and stuff).

But jury is still out there on norwegian work ethic. Even norwegians themselves do not deny dig by other europeans that rush hour out of Oslo starts from thurs 2pm. Ghost town in offices from 3pm most friday afternoons. :p

 

[SamuelStalin]

Okay, so, the billion dollar question is, why don't you remain there? From what I know as well Europeans can quite racist too, especially towards Asians, whether it is in Western Europe, the Scandinavian region or even the Eastern European bloc.

Perhaps you tak boleh tahan their racism (you wish you had blue eyes and white skin but this is not your fate to be) and you either got transferred back or you came back yourself at that time.

i speak from personal experience...there is alot of good that we can learn from the scandanavians...and contrary to what some might think, generally and relatively speaking scandanavians are hard workers...but at the sametime they also realise the importance of work life balance and quality family life...they work hard and also play hard...they live and experience life... and they do this without foreign maids...

 

[tonychat]

i speak from personal experience...there is alot of good that we can learn from the scandanavians...and contrary to what some might think, generally and relatively speaking scandanavians are hard workers...but at the sametime they also realise the importance of work life balance and quality family life...they work hard and also play hard...they live and experience life... and they do this without foreign maids...

But the Scandanacians are not Sinkies, even thought both starts with the Letter "S" and they dun display sinkie behavior.

If sinkies want any form of change, they got to unsinkified themselves first.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

perhaps...but i got the feeling when i was in tromso and bergen that the productivity rate was pretty high...when they work they really concentrate and work no chit chatting and standing by the water cooler...also their lunch breaks were less than hour...

But jury is still out there on norwegian work ethic. Even norwegians themselves do not deny dig by other europeans that rush hour out of Oslo starts from thurs 2pm. Ghost town in offices from 3pm most friday afternoons. :p

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

please lah don't try and turn the argument around by asking another question...very lame tactic...worse still raise a totally irrelevant issue...

Okay, so, the billion dollar question is, why don't you remain there? From what I know as well Europeans can quite racist too, especially towards Asians, whether it is in Western Europe, the Scandinavian region or even the Eastern European bloc.

Perhaps you tak boleh tahan their racism (you wish you had blue eyes and white skin but this is not your fate to be) and you either got transferred back or you came back yourself at that time.

 

[Yip Hon]

Taxis seems good industry.

Despite the recession, a new company Tiong Asia Marine has been reported to have applied to LTA for an operating licence.

Remember: Good attitude drivers make $5,000 a month. Wear a tie, be polite, don't smoke, follow the example of the guy featured in zaobao

Go for it. I wish you well

Dear Brothers which taxi company do you recommend ?


i am thinking of driving a taxi ...

 

[General Veers]

Dear Brothers which taxi company do you recommend ?


i am thinking of driving a taxi ...

Dear Yip Hon,

If you are a sinkie you can forget about asking this cheapskate PRC balls licker to recommend you. He is hoping that your government will replace sinkies with PRC taxi drivers. To know whether what i say is true, please do a search on his postings.

 

[Yip Hon]

Dear Yip Hon,

If you are a sinkie you can forget about asking this cheapskate PRC balls licker to recommend you. He is hoping that your government will replace sinkies with PRC taxi drivers. To know whether what i say is true, please do a search on his postings.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.cdgtaxi.com.sg/cabbies_d...id=BAD6778F08B6DAC20C6720512C3C5B64?cid=14803

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Dear G V ,


1. i am a singaporean.

2. was formerly a manager with a Multi National company.

3. Now aged above 45 years now having to fight with
graduates who are half my age and FT in singapore.

4. Got aged parents and family to take care off.

5. Bills to pay ...

6. How long does it take before i can start driving ?

7. I heard it takes about 3 months ?

8. But why so long ?

Thanks

 

[Yip Hon]

http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?t=35639



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://taxidiary.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html
A Singapore Taxi Driver's Diary


Probably the only taxi driver in this world with a PhD from Stanford and a proven track record of scientific accomplishments, I have been forced out of my research job at the height of my scientific career, and unable to find another one, for reasons I can only describe as something "uniquely Singapore". As a result, I am driving taxi to make a living and writing these real life stories just to make the dull job a little more interesting. I hope that these stories are interesting to you too.








Monday, April 6, 2009

Preface


Preface

Since the takeover of leadership by some western “big shots” a few years ago, the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) of ASTAR, Singapore, a place I have worked for 16 years as a PI (principal investigator), a place that was once flourishing, promising, and pleasant to work in, has been in a mess. Bestowed with the kind of power they had never seen before, these once reputable scientists turned everything in the institute upside down. The previous democratic and consensus-oriented management system that had worked well for more than a decade in the past was thrown out of window and replaced by one that was marked by domineering, manipulation, and incompetence. What they lacked in experience of management, adequate understanding of the institute, and proper respect for fellow scientists as their colleagues, they made up for in arrogance, prejudice, and naked muscle of political power. Some PIs were sent packing, and some were promoted, all up to the new leadership’s manipulative and twisted standards. Despite my considerable contribution to building up this place into what it is today, I was among the first few PIs to be told to go. My employment contract with IMCB was terminated by May, 2008, without any forms of compensation given.

I was hence forced into a deeply difficult position. Becoming jobless at my age is perhaps the worst nightmare that can happen to any ordinary man, not to mention the loss of life-long career. Ever since I was informed of their decision sometime in 2007, when the economy was still booming, I had been trying hard to find a job. I had submitted countless CV and application letters to various places in Singapore including universities, government agencies, and private companies. Most of them, however, never responded. A couple of replies I did receive never materialized into anything positive. Later, the outburst of financial crisis world wide helped extinguish my last hope of finding a job anytime soon. By November 2008, I finally made a decision to become a taxi driver.

At the time like this, the taxi business is probably the only business in Singapore that still actively recruits people. I signed up for a training course run by a government-linked transport company in November, with a course fee of nearly $280. On paper, the Express Taxi Driver’s Vocational License Course, or TDVL, is supposed to run six days a week, five hours a day. But in reality, the daily course never lasted longer than 3 hours. The whole purpose of the course was to help you pass the test and get the license. It was divided into five sections, Rules and regulations, Routes and landmarks, Names and locations of buildings, Defensive driving, and General paper, which included subjects such as highway codes, vehicle maintenance, healthy living, etc. The instructors were either veteran taxi drivers or representatives from government agencies such as Land Transport Authority (LTA).

My class started on 1st of December, 2008, which consisted of more than 30 people. There were three classes running at the same time and all were about this size. The course was very easy. Every day, the instructors told us what to highlight on the manual and asked us to memorize them because these were the materials that were going to be tested. As long as you did that, it was impossible to fail the test. Even if you fail, you still have one year to take an unrestricted number of retest. With such ease, no wonder there are nearly 100,000 people possessing taxi driver’s license today in Singapore, almost 3 for every 100 Singapore citizens, children and infants included.

By the end of February this year, I finally received my taxi driver’s license, and thus began my new taxi driver’s career. This blog records some of the events that I have experienced as a taxi driver. They are all actual events and are presented as truthfully as possible. Special precautions have been taken to avoid revealing any specific information which may help in any way the identification of the persons described in these events. The purpose of this blog is to provide readers with the first hand accounts of my experience of converting from a veteran scientist to a rookie taxi driver in today’s Singapore. The views and encounters described in this blog may be insignificant, isolated, or biased. Nevertheless, I am sure some readers will find this blog interesting and helpful in widening their general perspectives on Singapore.

Finally, I want to thank my family for their trust and support, and for always being at my side to endure with me the trauma, the distress and the anxiety caused by my job loss. I also want to thank all of my customers, especially the ones who have shown their grace, kindness, and understanding to me when I made mistakes during my work. They are the important factor to encourage me to carry on.

Posted by Mingjie Cai at 1:58 PM 39 comments

 

[General Veers]

Dear G V ,

1. i am a singaporean.

2. was formerly a manager with a Multi National company.

3. Now aged above 45 years now having to fight with
graduates who are half my age and FT in singapore.

4. Got aged parents and family to take care off.

5. Bills to pay ...

6. How long does it take before i can start driving ?

7. I heard it takes about 3 months ?

8. But why so long ?

Thanks

Dear Yip Hon,

Unfortunately i have no taxi driving experience so unable to comment on this. I suggest you call up the taxi companies to find out. The last thing to do is to seek your MPee's help.

 

[elephanto]

7. I heard it takes about 3 months ?
8. But why so long ?
Thanks

If u start from scratch i.e. no taxi license,

apply for provisional taxi license - this part take 1 month - lag due to traffic police check yr u for criminal/traffic/any significant offence

once check done, they issue u a letter, things can speed up, get medical report (xray), with letter, go sign up with offline class (slower) or online (faster). So online some say can settle in a day or two, if u pass all the online quiz. So all this no time lag.

Next time lag, is to book the Orientation Date - a hands on one day familarization. (this lag I am not so sure)

Then apply for Actual Taxi Test date & take test, results take how long (all this lag I dunno).

Sorry, my info incomplete - but you get the idea. I no taxi driver.

Google for the full actual details.....

Can understand your sense of urgency. Gd luck !

 

[Kuailan]

This Taxi Driver was probably encourage by Taxi Company to Bullshit in the press so that
Taxi company can justify increasing daily rental charges !!! 154th Bullshit Taxi Co. Inc. Sg.!!!!!

 

[krafty]

dear yip, may i ask what took you so long to decide on driving taxi when your circumstances are like that? You probably heard that recently taxi business is brisk. ya,it's true and better than last year. Anyway, having been driving for the past 2 years has made me quite a lazy bum. I doubt I can survive office work if i choose to go back.

You can make money but i really don't think that you can make $5k as stated in the papers.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.cdgtaxi.com.sg/cabbies_d...id=BAD6778F08B6DAC20C6720512C3C5B64?cid=14803

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Dear G V ,


1. i am a singaporean.

2. was formerly a manager with a Multi National company.

3. Now aged above 45 years now having to fight with
graduates who are half my age and FT in singapore.

4. Got aged parents and family to take care off.

5. Bills to pay ...

6. How long does it take before i can start driving ?

7. I heard it takes about 3 months ?

8. But why so long ?

Thanks