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Can a taxi driver earn $3,000 a month?
It's down to hard work and knowing where to find customers: Insiders
Published on Dec 12, 2011
Decorating his taxi is one way Mercedes cab driver Joseph Ho keeps his group of regular customers. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
By Royston Sim
They are the elite group of cabbies who turn their jobs into a real money spinner, taking home $3,000 a month or more. But their numbers have been dwindling in recent years due to rising costs, say taxi drivers.
The issue of cabbies' earnings was thrust into the spotlight last week when ComfortDelGro announced it was revising its fares, and the National Taxi Association called for other firms to follow suit.
BACKGROUND STORY
'Base of regular customers is key'
THE first thing passengers notice when they enter cabby Joseph Ho's Mercedes taxi is the decorated interior. His dashboard is decked out for Christmas with snowman figurines, bells and reindeer stickers. Soon, it will sport a different look for Chinese New Year. On normal days, he might use artificial orchids. He also displays gifts from regulars, such as a magnet from Texas that an American gave him.
Decorating is both a hobby and one of the ways in which Mr Ho, 51, keeps his regular customers.
"I'll do up my car nicely and keep it clean and if customers like my service, they'll get my name card. Everybody has their own ways," he said. "If I don't decorate, my regulars ask me why and want to know what I am going to do next.? He said his income varies and he earns $2,500 to $3,000 a month. He is on the road for 12 hours a day from Monday to Saturday and for several hours on Sunday to cover his rental fee. On a particularly good month, he can make close to $4,000 when he receives plenty of hourly bookings from regulars and overseas visitors.
For limousine drivers like him, the key is establishing a base of regulars, he said. This includes people living here and tourists. When ferrying first-time visitors, he tries to recommend attractions such as the Singapore Flyer and Botanic Gardens. Some then engage him for the rest of their stay. Tips also form a part of his income. Mr Ho recalled when a trio of elderly Australian men booked his services for three days. One left him a stack of notes that amounted to $500.
That said, he acknowledged that it is not easy for drivers to hit $3,000 a month these days. For one thing, diesel prices have risen significantly.
Drivers who work split-shifts also have to labour harder to earn more, he said, adding it can get difficult for morning shift drivers, as demand tends to drop after the morning peak period.
ROYSTON SIM
So how do those cab drivers who take home more than $3,000 manage it? Industry insiders say the key is knowing where to find customers and sheer hard work.
John (not his real name), drives a Chrysler 300c and earns $3,500 or more a month. The bulk of his business comes from his own pool of regular individual and corporate customers, although he also accepts passengers who flag him down in the street between bookings.
He charges a flat fee of $25 to $30 for each booking, works about 12 hours a day, five days a week, and hires a relief driver at the weekend. His clients include lawyers, bankers, shipping bosses and tourists. 'For limousine drivers, it's about how you serve the customers and whether they like your service,' he said. 'We're like salesmen.'
John keeps his cab spick and span, and has a network of about 500 drivers, calling them whenever a regular needs a taxi and he is off duty or unavailable. 'Passengers have to be very confident in us,' he said. 'I may not work for 24 hours, but my service is 24 hours.'
The 53-year-old earns substantially more than some of his peers, who say their monthly take-home pay hovers around $1,500. ComfortDelGro's fare revision kicks in on Monday. National Taxi Association president Wee Boon Kim said last week that if other firms followed suit, it would help drivers improve their earnings and offset rising costs such as diesel prices.
According to ComfortDelGro, the daily average net income from a two-shift taxi has stagnated at about $193.
Extra skills may not boost earnings
Other than revising taxi fares, what can be done to help cabbies earn more? In the past, steps were taken to provide them with additional skills to enlarge their job scope and hopefully increase their earnings.
The Singapore Taxi Academy, which conducts a vocational licence course, used to offer lessons teaching drivers how to improve their service - for example, by turning the volume down on the radio if a passenger looks tired.
It also ran a course training them to be 'taxi medical chaperones' who drive patients to hospital. Another course teaching cabbies to be tourist guides has been discontinued. An industry insider said drivers equipped with these extra skills may not necessarily earn more. The key still lies in demand patterns and sheer hard work. External factors such as whether a big event is taking place that day also play a role.
'Is a cabby driving at the right time and at the right place?' said the insider. 'Does he know where to go and can he establish a set of regulars? For those drivers who can earn $3,500 or more, 85 per cent of it is based on pure hard work.' He said cabbies with heavy financial commitments such as a sick family member can earn up to $4,000 a month because they are out on the road for 14 to 15 hours a day with minimal breaks.
Others are more relaxed and content to simply cover their costs. Mr Yap Boon Kee, 59, has been a cabby for more than 30 years. He said he no longer needs to drive long hours as his children have grown up. Now he is content to make about $1,500 a month to cover his own spending.
Cabby Samuel Yan earns an average of $2,500 a month after his operating costs are deducted. The 55-year-old works up to 12 hours a day from Monday to Saturday, and does not have a relief driver. He said: 'If you want to make more money, the main factor is how hard you push yourself. You need to be on the road.
'Luck plays a part too. I'm very observant and I know the customer patterns in certain estates. Some drivers just drive blindly.'
[email protected]
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rvt4Ca2cgCA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
Decorating his taxi is one way Mercedes cab driver Joseph Ho keeps his group of regular customers. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
By Royston Sim
They are the elite group of cabbies who turn their jobs into a real money spinner, taking home $3,000 a month or more. But their numbers have been dwindling in recent years due to rising costs, say taxi drivers.
The issue of cabbies' earnings was thrust into the spotlight last week when ComfortDelGro announced it was revising its fares, and the National Taxi Association called for other firms to follow suit.
BACKGROUND STORY
'Base of regular customers is key'
THE first thing passengers notice when they enter cabby Joseph Ho's Mercedes taxi is the decorated interior. His dashboard is decked out for Christmas with snowman figurines, bells and reindeer stickers. Soon, it will sport a different look for Chinese New Year. On normal days, he might use artificial orchids. He also displays gifts from regulars, such as a magnet from Texas that an American gave him.
Decorating is both a hobby and one of the ways in which Mr Ho, 51, keeps his regular customers.
"I'll do up my car nicely and keep it clean and if customers like my service, they'll get my name card. Everybody has their own ways," he said. "If I don't decorate, my regulars ask me why and want to know what I am going to do next.? He said his income varies and he earns $2,500 to $3,000 a month. He is on the road for 12 hours a day from Monday to Saturday and for several hours on Sunday to cover his rental fee. On a particularly good month, he can make close to $4,000 when he receives plenty of hourly bookings from regulars and overseas visitors.
For limousine drivers like him, the key is establishing a base of regulars, he said. This includes people living here and tourists. When ferrying first-time visitors, he tries to recommend attractions such as the Singapore Flyer and Botanic Gardens. Some then engage him for the rest of their stay. Tips also form a part of his income. Mr Ho recalled when a trio of elderly Australian men booked his services for three days. One left him a stack of notes that amounted to $500.
That said, he acknowledged that it is not easy for drivers to hit $3,000 a month these days. For one thing, diesel prices have risen significantly.
Drivers who work split-shifts also have to labour harder to earn more, he said, adding it can get difficult for morning shift drivers, as demand tends to drop after the morning peak period.
ROYSTON SIM
So how do those cab drivers who take home more than $3,000 manage it? Industry insiders say the key is knowing where to find customers and sheer hard work.
John (not his real name), drives a Chrysler 300c and earns $3,500 or more a month. The bulk of his business comes from his own pool of regular individual and corporate customers, although he also accepts passengers who flag him down in the street between bookings.
He charges a flat fee of $25 to $30 for each booking, works about 12 hours a day, five days a week, and hires a relief driver at the weekend. His clients include lawyers, bankers, shipping bosses and tourists. 'For limousine drivers, it's about how you serve the customers and whether they like your service,' he said. 'We're like salesmen.'
John keeps his cab spick and span, and has a network of about 500 drivers, calling them whenever a regular needs a taxi and he is off duty or unavailable. 'Passengers have to be very confident in us,' he said. 'I may not work for 24 hours, but my service is 24 hours.'
The 53-year-old earns substantially more than some of his peers, who say their monthly take-home pay hovers around $1,500. ComfortDelGro's fare revision kicks in on Monday. National Taxi Association president Wee Boon Kim said last week that if other firms followed suit, it would help drivers improve their earnings and offset rising costs such as diesel prices.
According to ComfortDelGro, the daily average net income from a two-shift taxi has stagnated at about $193.
Extra skills may not boost earnings
Other than revising taxi fares, what can be done to help cabbies earn more? In the past, steps were taken to provide them with additional skills to enlarge their job scope and hopefully increase their earnings.
The Singapore Taxi Academy, which conducts a vocational licence course, used to offer lessons teaching drivers how to improve their service - for example, by turning the volume down on the radio if a passenger looks tired.
It also ran a course training them to be 'taxi medical chaperones' who drive patients to hospital. Another course teaching cabbies to be tourist guides has been discontinued. An industry insider said drivers equipped with these extra skills may not necessarily earn more. The key still lies in demand patterns and sheer hard work. External factors such as whether a big event is taking place that day also play a role.
'Is a cabby driving at the right time and at the right place?' said the insider. 'Does he know where to go and can he establish a set of regulars? For those drivers who can earn $3,500 or more, 85 per cent of it is based on pure hard work.' He said cabbies with heavy financial commitments such as a sick family member can earn up to $4,000 a month because they are out on the road for 14 to 15 hours a day with minimal breaks.
Others are more relaxed and content to simply cover their costs. Mr Yap Boon Kee, 59, has been a cabby for more than 30 years. He said he no longer needs to drive long hours as his children have grown up. Now he is content to make about $1,500 a month to cover his own spending.
Cabby Samuel Yan earns an average of $2,500 a month after his operating costs are deducted. The 55-year-old works up to 12 hours a day from Monday to Saturday, and does not have a relief driver. He said: 'If you want to make more money, the main factor is how hard you push yourself. You need to be on the road.
'Luck plays a part too. I'm very observant and I know the customer patterns in certain estates. Some drivers just drive blindly.'
[email protected]
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rvt4Ca2cgCA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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