Plight of a Taxi Driver…A Nation Enslaved by 1 Familee

[makapaaa]

[h=2]Plight of a Taxi Driver…[/h]
by KinMun Theodore Nathanael Lee on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 1:19pm

By John Tan
http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Tan/100003217904034
Plight of a Taxi Driver…
I am 33 years old. I lost my job to a FT a year plus ago. Perhaps i have myself to blame for not upgrading myself. So i choose to be a taxi driver (comfort delgro)
Cons of being a taxi driver.
No Sick Leave.
No Annual Leave.
No 16.5% Employer CPF.
Top up your own Medisave.
You lose 2000 dollars immediately if you meet with another accident.
2010 - Diesel Price $0.88 per litre (company subsidized)
Jan 2011 till today - Diesel Price $1.13 per litre (company subsidized)
I am a night shift driver, i average 350km per night. So 2010 vs 2011, everyday i made 6-8dollars lesser everyday,180-240dollars a month for almost a year already. Everyone in Singapore have at least have a same pay or have a slight pay increment. But for me, i made 180-240dollars lesser every month... for this whole 2011.
I considered myself the top 5% percentile earners of taxi driver. Cos i am still young, my body can take it. I work 11-14 hours a day, 365 days a year. Although i earned average 3.5k a month. But look at the time i had put it. I will exchange for a lower paying job with sick leave, with annual leave, the new paternal leave, with 16.5% employer cpf anytime. Who want to exchange with me?
Do i need to work so hard? Of course i need, i have high mortgage, i got children to feed.
I paid the price a few months back. I sit too long inside the vehicle and had a piles operation and down for 2 weeks. No income but i still need to pay the rental of 130dollars a day. sigh?

Waiting for Taxi Company to reduce rental? You think it is possible? This is Singapore. Wait long long. Comfort Delgro offer us 3 days rental free a year if you dunno, so officially that is our annual leave, lol?
Ok for the price increase. Of course i am happy and worried looking at the response here. But to be fair, extending the evening peak hours to 12 midnight is a little ridiculous. 10pm is fair i would said. Sunday include peak hour i also agree, this is make cabbies work on sunday, because a lot of cabbies choose sunday as a relax day due to no surcharges to balance out family life. Now the number of cabs on the road on sunday will increase as cabbies can now choose another day perhaps for family day.
Happy? (pray they do not raise rental) Why? I did some calculations... i might make a extra 7 to 12 dollars a day provided the passengers volume remained the same. It merely go back to 2010 for taxi drivers with a couple of dollars extra only.
Worried looking at the response....
But actually... it affect those people taking cab after 8pm only. For those always take cab during 5pm to 8pm, you are actually paying the same or slightly lesser
Old Fare (5-8pm) - If you take a cab back then, if you have a metered fare of 10 dollars, you will have a surcharge of $3.50 so is around $13.50
New Fare (5-12mn) - It will cost you $12.50 for now. plus another $0.20 for the flagdown increase. PLUS now 400m = $0.22 vs 385m = $0.20 equals to around $0.10 increase. So actually total you are paying $12.80 instead of $13.50 now.
For those always take cab after 8pm... you will be paying around $2.80 to $3.00 dollars more per trip based on a $10 metered fare. But a little good news is now, you can choose to go home earlier, no need to wait for 8pm.
I hope readers will not seriously boycott taxis because of taxi company. They will never reduce the rental trust me, this is Singapore. If readers boycott taxis, not the taxi company suffer, it is taxi driver who suffers. Most of the taxi drivers are very elderly or lower tier income earners, if everyone boycott taxis.. who gonna feed these people...
Seriously this increase barely bring us back to 2010 level where diesel is lower...
Taxi is the only industry that NO FT can join. You need to be at least a 30 year old SINGAPOREAN. Please, readers. Please… Do not boycott taxi. Thanks in advance...

 

[singveld]

is that krafty whinging again?

 

[tonychat]

taxi driver is self-employed and not being employed by other.

how can you compared like that? It gives you more stress.

It is much better that you see what you can achieve and gain from being a taxi driver than to compare all the shit from a job that you just lost.

Pls unsinkified yourself.. you sound really disgusting...

 

[tonychat]

For those always take cab after 8pm... you will be paying around $2.80 to $3.00 dollars more per trip based on a $10 metered fare. But a little good news is now, you can choose to go home earlier, no need to wait for 8pm.

what kind of sinkie thinking is this?

 

[krafty]

He got a point, no need to wait till after 8pm to take cab...

 

[hairylee]

A lot of Taxi drivers have kidney problems cause of sitting long hours.
Young now no problem but later years problem will come.

 

[zeddy]

Even though some taxi drivers makes me pissed off with their errant driving antics, but sometimes I do take pity on them.. Driving long hours, handling rude inconsiderate passengers, at risks of being robbed by suspicious characters while driving at night, paying big amount of rentals to the taxi company..

 

[sirus]

A lot of Taxi drivers have kidney problems cause of sitting long hours.
Young now no problem but later years problem will come.

They get piles also.

 

[Froggy]

Two Saturdays ago I took a cab from airport to Tanglin Halt when I arrived in Singapore. As usually I will have a conversation with the driver to update myself what's happening in Singapore.This driver looks like he's in his early 40s. He told me that taxi driver job is very popular now as more and more young people become taxi drivers because the pay is easily $3,000 per month and they tend to have the freedom to do other stuff too especially their personal stuff. This guy also told me that a new pricing structure will be out soon where the peak hour pricing will be extended while 35% will be reduced this is before it was announce the following week.

Another trip on Wednesday from Science Park to Newton, the taxi driver who is in his late 40s told me on a normal month his income is easily $4,000 and if he works really hard $6,000 is attainable. He also told me that it is uncommon to get less than $3,500. These are real taxi driver giving me true life testimonials. I wonder if they are the exception after reading this start of this thread.

 

[Cestbon]

Very funny wait after 8 pm take cab before the price increase is wasting time. If really want to save just take MRT and bus.