Chitchat Singaporeans become Uber drivers to get around high car prices

Kakamora · Mar 17, 2017

Singaporeans become Uber drivers to get around high car prices http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singaporeans-become-uber-drivers-get-around-high-car-prices

The 58-year-old retired policeman rents a car in Singapore, drives three to four hours a day for Uber Technologies to cover its cost, and has a shiny Honda Vezel the rest of the time for his personal use. Hiring a vehicle to work for Uber is becoming a more common sight in the Republic, where Mr Chiu’s SUV costs more than a BMW M3 luxury sports sedan does in New York.

Between 2014 — the year after Uber began operating in Singapore — and 2015, the number of rental cars in the country soared more than 50 per cent to 29,369, surpassing the number of taxis on the road, according to official data. Even so, the total vehicle population decreased by 1.5 per cent.

MyMother · Mar 17, 2017

Singaporeans have become slaves to their overpriced cars, only to be ripped off even more. Would it be easier for them to take uber instead than to own the car?

Cottonmouth · Mar 17, 2017

Sinkies are all taxi driver wannabes, they just prefer to drive their private taxi.

maxsanic · Mar 18, 2017

Kakamora said:
Singaporeans become Uber drivers to get around high car prices http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singaporeans-become-uber-drivers-get-around-high-car-prices

The 58-year-old retired policeman rents a car in Singapore, drives three to four hours a day for Uber Technologies to cover its cost, and has a shiny Honda Vezel the rest of the time for his personal use. Hiring a vehicle to work for Uber is becoming a more common sight in the Republic, where Mr Chiu’s SUV costs more than a BMW M3 luxury sports sedan does in New York.

I'm not quite getting the logic behind people like this Mr Chiu, I know quite a number of them in real life with the same train of thought. The guy's working a 28 hour work week which is like 60+% of a typical full time 44 hour employee just to cover the cost of the car. Moreover it's not like Uber covers the cost of the car for his personal use, he still has to folk out significant costs in parking, ERP, petrol etc. that could cost yet another $400 a month.

Wouldn't it make more sense to take up some part time work and use that earnings to get around in a taxi/Uber? Not only would the working hours would have been much shorter, most of them also come with some sort of company benefit and government elderly grants. There's probably even a few hundred dollars of extra pocket money every month.

EnBloc · Mar 18, 2017

Most people are prostitutes in that they work in jobs they don't like to feed their senseless consumer needs.

Simplify your life, work only as much as necessary and enjoy your free time.

scroobal · Mar 18, 2017

Agree, article makes no sense.

maxsanic said:
I'm not quite getting the logic behind people like this Mr Chiu, I know quite a number of them in real life with the same train of thought. The guy's working a 28 hour work week which is like 60+% of a typical full time 44 hour employee just to cover the cost of the car. Moreover it's not like Uber covers the cost of the car for his personal use, he still has to folk out significant costs in parking, ERP, petrol etc. that could cost yet another $400 a month.

Wouldn't it make more sense to take up some part time work and use that earnings to get around in a taxi/Uber? Not only would the working hours would have been much shorter, most of them also come with some sort of company benefit and government elderly grants. There's probably even a few hundred dollars of extra pocket money every month.

syed putra · Mar 18, 2017

instead of buying a car and becoming uber driver, she could have used uber and be free of debt. That is why car sales are down as more prefer uber or grab to owning cars if they are single.

Kakamora · Mar 18, 2017

scroobal said:
Agree, article makes no sense.

It reflects the desire to own a car in Singapore, a symbol of social status, especially if it is not painted as a Taxi. They don't really drive "full-time"

Many full time Uber drivers in Singapore are from Malaysia.

Ebolar8SG · Mar 18, 2017

Now there are lesser and lesser cars in HDB MSCP, and at late night some carpark entrance sign boards shows close to 1000 empty lots available.

If you worked in say Wilson Parking; Ramky; Certis Cisco, you will know this.

The owners of 1.3 ~ 1.6 smaller cars, especially those popular Uber Grab models, are not only becoming financially harder to keep their cars, but also feeling uneasy to be mistaken as a passenger service driver. This problem is similar to the 90s Tua Tao Kays, who drove expensive white Mercedes gave up and sold cars at losses, when they find NTUC Comfort using as taxis and passengers are waving at their Merc all over the roads, pissed them off!

:biggrin:

JohnTan · Mar 18, 2017

Cars in singapore, rental or bought, are grossly overpriced due to high import tax and COEs. Even for rental cars, somebody has to pay for the import tax and COE, and all that goes into the computation of the daily rental. So, the guy renting the uber car isn't really getting a good deal even though he stupidly thinks he is. If the renter isn't dumb, then the master owner of the car is, for charging too low a daily rental.

People in zikapore are better off not getting a car. Or if they do, they should make sure they are financially stable first. Cars in Singapore are a luxury, not a necessity like in most parts of the world where the public transport system sucks.

Kakamora · Mar 18, 2017

Ebolar8SG said:
This problem is similar to the 90s Tua Tao Kays, who drove expensive white Mercedes gave up and sold cars at losses, when they find NTUC Comfort using as taxis and passengers are waving at their Merc all over the roads, pissed them off!

Now, all Honda Vezel drivers are perceived to be Uber drivers too.

GoldenDragon · Mar 18, 2017

Kakamora said:
Now, all Honda Vezel drivers are perceived to be Uber drivers too.

Ditto Mitsubishi Attrage for the new/newer cars. For the old ones, Stream, Wish, Altis n Sunny cars.

Chitchat Singaporeans become Uber drivers to get around high car prices

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