Welcome Home !!!

Acekang,

Great sharing of your taxi driving encounters on the first day and the subsequent,i wish you could continue writing here as much as you can,i definitely will come back everyday to read of your stories.I will bookmark your page.

i felt it's pretty hard to read about the cabby daily life everywhere,except the one i came to know about is Dr Cai,i understand that cabbies life are pretty tough and everyone is working very hard to make a living.

I got my TVL some years ago,but just like what you said i do not have the courage to do so,as my bigger drawback is i do not familiar with every Singapore roads/routes,so lack of confidence,i'm hesitant,but after reading some blogs of the Taxi 大哥 here,i'm more willing and ready, presently i'm studying very hard on the directory map,i not sure whether this is the correct way to do so before start driving a taxi.

so i wish you can write more of your encounters here,once i start driving taxi, i could be some sort of more aware & prepare the type of pax i will be facing.I understand that there sure to be nasty/difficult people around ,so i can learn from all of you guys now for the preparation.

moshimoshi has indeed given a piece of very good advice "Don't be shy, juz tell them u r new and ask them for guide. Most pax are understanding." i will follow this advice if i do not know of the ways when i start.

Final i want to ask some questions from you,you said you used the GPS,are you referring to the MDT GPS or Mobile Phone GPS,so i guess a pax boarded you cab with the location you key in the road name without moving,will the pax complaint you are using the GPS and delay their time,because pax always expected you to know every road,SORRY for asking this question,i might have to use the GPS as well.

Another question is if you drop you pax in any of the airport arrival/departure zone,i mean if someone comes by and wanted to board your taxi(i.e you are not in the queue),do you allow them or reject them,if you reject them,what would you going to say,could Acekang or anyone cares to share your experience here,i'm not sure are there any airport police will be there to take down the plate no.

I wish all Taxi 大哥 & Acekang happy driving,and is possible relate more stories here,so i can learn from all of you.

Million Thanks.

hi emptygarden, 1st of all, WELCOME to STC.
i just said 'hi' becoz i don't know to address u as bro or sis, it's not stated in your stats.
okay, i will only answer ur query about the airport.
if u sent pax to airport, u only alight them at departure halls. (be smart but don't be too smart).
u r not supposed to pick up any pax at departure halls or other halls at all.
juz tell them to go to arrival hall taxi stand.
but of coz, there are instances of taxis picking up pax a departure halls oso.
u do it at ur own risk, the penalty could be a $100 fine.

For sure nobody will be happy waiting you complete the searching before your taxi starts moving. When keying in destination road or landmark to your GPS, try to do it bit by bit:

- get your GPS ready at data entry screen at all time.

- when passenger aboard, tells you go Orchard Tower, you just say OK, press your taxi meter ON, then move.

- enter character by character during any available moment while your taxi is stopping such as give way, jam, best is at red light.

- do a routing and evaluate the entire route in text mode or summary page see if this route makes sense. You may need to tell your passenger your intended direction in some cases.

- when you missed a turn or purposely bypass the heavy jam (eg Clarke Quay to Orchard Tower you noticed big jam at Paterson Rd, you decided go straight towards Tanglin Rd), drive SLOWLY, give sufficient time for the GPS to recalculate before the next turn.

How accurate is a GPS?

The answer is "fairly accurate", not to worry but you need to know how it works.

Landmark is a point of coordinate registered on the map, be it closed to Orchard Rd or Claymore Rd is depends on mapper. If Orchard Tower on you GPS map is closer to Orchard Rd instead of Claymore Rd then the route will be different. You will be asked to go straight to Orchard Blvd->R to Tomlinson Rd->R to Tanglin Rd->Orchard Tower.

Road is minimum two pt of coordinates, a starting pt (head) and ending pt (tail) on the map. There may be one or few more pts along the road if it is long.

Depends on mapper, we won't know where the ROUTE is if just click on the searching result. For example Bedok Reservoir Rd, if we just click on the result then where will it directs me? Will it leads me to Tampines Ave 1 or Eunos Link?

- Normal car users can use Intersection search but impractical for taxi drivers;

- Postal code is accurate but passenger may not knows the postal code;

- Address search is feasible at any time, e.g. 672 Bedok, do a search and it will lead me to Kaki Buki Ave 1 then Jln Damai, alley to 671.

- I normally use Map View, zoom in and locate the approx location on the map, set it to destination then GO. Always works perfectly.

To shorten your learning path, if you have not purchase a GPS yet, try to get a unit with Voice guide as it pronounce the road names for you, i.e. turn left 300m to Kaki Bukit Avenue 1.... turn left Jln Damai... although road names pronounced is odd.

Hi moshimoshi,

Thanks for welcoming,and apologise for the status,i'm bro.

I will take note of you advice,definitely will not do that,i felt it's best to queue up,just to be fair to other taxi bro/sis waiting at the queue.



To bridgestone,

Definitely benefits from your GPS scenario,example and advices,gratefully thanks

taxiuncle wrote:

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acekang wrote:

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24 Sep 09

acekang
Comfort/Sonata/OMO/Old Airport Road

I passed my Class 3 driving licenseon 2002, after that i had not driven any car, passed my TVL at the age of 30, wanted to have a taste of driving a car but cannot afford buying one.
Initially wanted to start driving taxi when i was 30, but was not encouraged to do so, I was on and off out of jobs, the last job i had was a technical job only lasted about 1 year, after that i stopped working and play mmorpg - World of Warcraft, that lasted for 1 year+,

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wah lau, play warcraft for 1 year? damn lucky guy.

PM bluenuts n get a talkie lah.

good luck.

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Yeah i PM bluenuts, but i omo and very new......dunno roads, dependly mostly on good pax directions and GPS, need to slog like mad to cover rental lol.....i am getting a hang of it now.....as road experiences increased, i'll be able to cope easier then got more time. Hope to meet up on the next coffee sessions then we discuss....so the walkie talkie can cover the whole singapore range? Thats one of by main concern....and also prefer seeing a live demo first....we can sort these out when we get to meet.

Emptygarden wrote:

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Acekang,

Great sharing of your taxi driving encounters on the first day and the subsequent,i wish you could continue writing here as much as you can,i definitely will come back everyday to read of your stories.I will bookmark your page.

i felt it's pretty hard to read about the cabby daily life everywhere,except the one i came to know about is Dr Cai,i understand that cabbies life are pretty tough and everyone is working very hard to make a living.

I got my TVL some years ago,but just like what you said i do not have the courage to do so,as my bigger drawback is i do not familiar with every Singapore roads/routes,so lack of confidence,i'm hesitant,but after reading some blogs of the Taxi 大哥 here,i'm more willing and ready, presently i'm studying very hard on the directory map,i not sure whether this is the correct way to do so before start driving a taxi.

so i wish you can write more of your encounters here,once i start driving taxi, i could be some sort of more aware & prepare the type of pax i will be facing.I understand that there sure to be nasty/difficult people around ,so i can learn from all of you guys now for the preparation.

moshimoshi has indeed given a piece of very good advice "Don't be shy, juz tell them u r new and ask them for guide. Most pax are understanding." i will follow this advice if i do not know of the ways when i start.

Final i want to ask some questions from you,you said you used the GPS,are you referring to the MDT GPS or Mobile Phone GPS,so i guess a pax boarded you cab with the location you key in the road name without moving,will the pax complaint you are using the GPS and delay their time,because pax always expected you to know every road,SORRY for asking this question,i might have to use the GPS as well.

Another question is if you drop you pax in any of the airport arrival/departure zone,i mean if someone comes by and wanted to board your taxi(i.e you are not in the queue),do you allow them or reject them,if you reject them,what would you going to say,could Acekang or anyone cares to share your experience here,i'm not sure are there any airport police will be there to take down the plate no.

I wish all Taxi 大哥 & Acekang happy driving,and is possible relate more stories here,so i can learn from all of you.

Million Thanks.

---

===moshimoshi has indeed given a piece of very good advice "Don't be shy, juz tell them u r new and ask them for guide. Most pax are understanding." i will follow this advice if i do not know of the ways when i start.====

This statement is very true.........remember whathappened thepax lategoingrevenue house, i missed the turn...that is the PAINFUL lesson learnt...at first i thought i got GPS and i just follow, but assoon as we approaches the PIEalong toa payoh lor6, missed the turn and loop back same place....GPS will go haywire especially when coming towars expressway, just follow the road signs when u are near there.

Initially i just ask go where, GPS track got, i just go, didnt even wanna ask pax which routes.....later from experiences, asking pax is the right way to go.

1. You respect yourpax choice of route.
2. You can learn from pax route you would never thought of.
3. You did your part - asking pax on choosing route, thats the same thing when u go mac donald buy food, u get to choose what u paid for.
4. Explained to them u are new, they will be glad to direct you where to go.
5. If pax also dunno way and u not confident to bring them to destination in time, especially if they are going to be late for work-usually during morning peak hours, kindly reject them.
6. Usually ppl who take taxi knows the way better.....its like at least 80% knows way and 20% doesnt....at least that is the statistics of the pax i took.

Me : Hello!
Pax : Hi!
Me : Could you direct me where u wanna go, i'm not too sure about the roads....
Pax : Sure!

Pax give good directions and can reach destination fast unless JAMMED....lol

Me : Could you direct me where u wanna go, i'm not too sure about the roads....
Pax : I also dunno....
Me : Ok,gimme a min to my GPS......

Actually if u are in a taxi-queue, drive off right away, u will get hornby behind lol.....dont hold up the taxi queue....


====Final i want to ask some questions from you,you said you used the GPS,are you referring to the MDT GPS or Mobile Phone GPS,so i guess a pax boarded you cab with the location you key in the road name without moving,will the pax complaint you are using the GPS and delay their time,because pax always expected you to know every road,SORRY for asking this question,i might have to use the GPS as well====

Ok, the GPS i bought is a Garmin 255 , bought from Perfect Watch about $385, Sim Lim Tower, ground floor. I searched the internet, there are some better deals out there, order from some website, and u pay for the shipping....i dont really dare to buy even it can be about $100~150 cheaper...

I drive sonata, its a 1 leg and 1 hand can handle.....my GPS i pasted it on my right windscreen, i press it to search while drivingor at junction. Its advised to stopped and key in but dont do that in a taxi queue...

As long as u did what u could, do your part, set ur GPS, get to the destination....wouldnt it be wasting more time if u dont have anything to guide u where to go. Worst case, reject the pax....give discounts if managed to reach but u took some wrong turns. Appease the pax, everyone happy, who would complain? Usually ppl who complained know the roads very well , and the driver didnt bother to check their preferred routes....if ppl dunno roads, u got 10 laps whole sg they also dunno....jk....but dont think all angmoh dont know routes,SOME DO!

===Another question is if you drop you pax in any of the airport arrival/departure zone,i mean if someone comes by and wanted to board your taxi(i.e you are not in the queue),do you allow them or reject them,if you reject them,what would you going to say,could Acekang or anyone cares to share your experience here,i'm not sure are there any airport police will be there to take down the plate no.===

Airport stuffs, i am also new, but i can answer u to the best of my knowledge.....
Pax u drop at DEPARTURE only.
If u didnt QUEUE, dont take PAX.
Some PAX act blur jump queue come DEPARTURE take, if u asked me, i would reject! If one accept, then u will see the pax all come here to queue, then not fair to other TU that queued 1hr for eg...
If u take pax from DEPARTURE, u must be prepared to get booked by airport police, since u are doing something u are not supposed to. If airport police allow u to take pax, he/she is answerable when something happens.....but do u think words wont get twisted when he/she got questioned by superiors....dont do wat u not supposed to do.....Do anything , dont get caught...think before u do, be prepared for the consequences.

Some funny conversation...

It was after my first day that customer forgot to take their items after the trip, i remembered my instructor saying mdt got a TEXT to SPEECH button, will ask pax to fasten seat belt when u on meter, will ask pax to pay $xx.xx when u press OP to stop meter, and also prompt pax : have u left anything behind? Thank you , have a nice day!

Ppl are getting used to pre-recorded messages....and they would listen more to it than if u ask them to fasten seat belt....

================================
At the end of a trip, i press Op button to stop....

MDT : Have you left anything behind?
Pax : I left my brain behind! :)

================================

Took a pax from river valley close going to T2 changi airport.....

Me : Go by which way?
Pax : Jetstar!
Me : Which way u wanna go?
Pax : Jetstar!
Me : ......

There are many logos at each of the gates when u reach the departure hall, i saw Jetstar logo, i didnt know about it till i got this Jetstar pax....usually pax will say where to stop, or wont bother much, just some walking distance away...