Iwant to drive as super relief on Sunday. The problem is I cant commit to drive on every sunday but can 2 sundays in a month. Any hirer in bedok area looking for super reliefon Sunday. I can only drive 2 sunday a month.
Taxi Uncle, do you think I can find a hirer that allow me to drive as and when on Sunday ? I can't commit becos sometime oversea for work.
Being a Super relief means that you do not have a "guarantee" of a cab to drive when you are available to drive but the trade off is that you get to pay a negotiated lower rate than the usual amount you have to pay as a regular relief. SUPER Relief is usually a "niche" term that applies to a driver who helps drivers who want to take a break, have personal matters to attend to and couldn't drive, etc. In return, the SUPER relief driver is only willing to pay a negotiated, discounted rental to the hirer.
In other words, you cannot choose "as and when" you want to drive and yet pay a discounted rate.
If you want to drive on 2 Sundays a month and yet cannot commit to driving it on which particular Sunday, it is difficult to find a hirer who is willing to cater to your whimsical requests (unless of course the hirer is beholden to you). It means that if you do not wish to drive at any particular Sunday, and he could not cover you, who is responsible for the cab rental? Put yourself in his shoes and you tell me whether it is fair for him??
So, the next choice, you have to commit to 2 particular Sundays a month. This way, you are actually a regular relief and you will not be offered a discounted rental rate because you will thus become a regular relief. Not a SUPER relief.
Last, you can also find a hirer who is will to accept your arrangement (choosing any 2 Sundays to drive as and when you like) but it is unlikely that he will accept a discounted rental from you. You will remain a regular relief but there may be occasions when you do not get a cab from him at the last minute. So, there could be disputes regarding who gets to drive.
Finding a partner who is able to do this may not be easy but not impossible. Good Luck and Drive Safe.
-- Edited by joetanks on Wednesday 19th of February 2014 11:13:31 AM
Thank you for your advise and explanation on super relief and regular relief. I might just contact beach road taxi as they have silver cab for rent under as and ehen basic. But rental higher a bit.
I drove beach road taxi before I became a regular relief for SMRT. It is true that you can rent on an adhoc basis, but you may not always get a cab to drive. They too have their regulars who rent from them every day. These are the ppl who either do not want to pay the deposit to the taxi co. or have been banned from driving for the 3 biggest taxi co.
So, these regulars drive full time and book their cabs for a whole week at a time. You may not always get a slot to drive. I also suspect priority is given to these regulars as they are making a living whereas part timers who drive as and when are considered as "not so in need of a cab to drive". They are the regular customers whereas you are not. So, obviously priority will be given to them. But for Sundays, maybe you have a better chance since these full time drivers may rest on weekends.
The condition of their cabs is really bad. The seats are torn, dirty, smelly etc.. Worst of all, their vehicles often break down, battery flat etc, because they really are being used 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. Sometimes, when u go and collect your vehicle, it may not be there cos the night before, it broke down and was towed to the workshop. You may or may not be informed in advance. So, it could be a wasted trip.
If you really want to earn some decent income from taxi driving, it is best to be a regular relief and commit fixed driving days. Otherwise, most hirers will think you are not serious and will not want to work with you. I could not earn much from driving adhoc with Beach road taxis. It was more for experience whilst searching for a suitable hirer.
Lastly, I heard rumours that Beach road taxis have merged with Lakeview taxis. So, I do not know if there are new rules and arrangements.
-- Edited by Taxilim on Thursday 20th of February 2014 12:22:38 AM
Bro Taxilim, Thanks for giving so much info about LV and Beach Road Taxi.
I had a previous experience with Premier taxi too. They had a branch in Toa Payoh and I want to go try out their taxi when I first started. However, they need me to pay for insurance at Premier Changi South. After I paid the insurance premium of about $80, they told me that I must wait for a taxi....no immediate ones available...a couple of days of waiting.
While waiting, I found another Premier hirer who is looking for super relief. I agreed to take his cab but found out when visiting Changi South that there is a difference between the fleet of cabs, those that belonged to Changi South and those that belonged to Toa Payoh.
So, I must pay for a new insurance package if I want to drive his taxi. I was also informed that if I take the Changi South taxi, my premium which I just paid (less than a few days before) must be forfeited. I asked why I cannot keep the insurance package for Toa Payoh and they simply said it is company policy...ai lai mai suah.....take it or leave it.
In the end, as the hirer himself did not know about it, I absorb the insurance fee and continued to complete the job. So, in conclusion, there are many hidden rules which such companies impose on their hirers which you may not be aware of until you faced it. If you are credible hirer (meaning, no accidents, pay rental nicely, good services etc), it is better to go for the more established players.
Spend time with other cabbies who has horror stories and feedback and share with others in this forum for the benefit of members here. Arigato Gozaimasu!!!
If I am not wrong, all these (beach road taxis etc) are different subcontractors who lease the taxis from Premier and in turn rent out to the super reliefs. The insurance I suspect are tagged to the vehicle reg. numbers, so cannot suka suka change. Also, if you are from the Toa Payoh group,you cannot drive for the Clementi group or Bedok South group etc.
All the taxis that I drove had mileage above 1,000,000 km...
One last thing. Touch wood, if you get into an accident, the excess is much higher for super reliefs, $2,500 or something like that..
rumours, do you 1 2 pick up cab from tampines on a sunday morning 4am and return at 4pm?
if you have transport to do pick up yourself, i can check my fren who may looking for a super relief for alternate sunday.
Unfortunately, I don't have own transport to pick up cab 4 am on sunday..
However, really thanks for your info on this.
Now I actually try leaving a pc of paper slip for those taxi near my house bedok area.. But think too difficult to find a hirer that can let me drive on Sunday as I not every sunday can drive..
I been down to beach road taxi rental, saw the cab condition very worse.. This beach road taxi at Ang Mo kio rental rates high, Toyota crown 60 + and Kia mag auto about $80 for a half day shift..
Thanks taxi uncle.. if you have friend willing to let me standby as and when during sunday pls let me know..
