$2,500 a month driving taxi after retrenched as electrician

[besotted]

Singaporeans w/o jobs plse all drive taxis, make $2,500 a month

Last time I say (can check history) people say I talk cock, this one is from Tan Kin Lian's blog

And then there is the Mercs cab driver who makes $5,000 a month (from zaobao, also can check history)

OK, mai too leow, go to work, go to LTA get license, adopt a good attitude, work hard, celebrate 44th National Day


http://singaporepublictransport.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Taxi driver in Singapore

I took a taxi from airport to home. The taxi driver was previously working as an electrician in a town council. The town council outsourced the work to a contractor who brought in foreign workers and depressed the wage to $1,500. He was not able to accept this reduced pay. So, he decided to drive a taxi.

He worked 12 hours a day and earned about $2,500 a month. About 15% of this calls come from booking. He has to pick up the passengers from the roadside or from private booking (without any fee) for the remaining 85%.

He told me that if a taxi booking service is available on SMS, he will be happy to take up the calls without any booking fee. It is better than driving around to look for a passenger.

Posted by Tan Kin Lian at 10:11 AM 0 comments

 

[TeeKee]

He worked 12 hours a day and earned about $2,500 a month.

wah if i worked 12 hours per day, where got time left to come here and post?

 

[besotted]

wah if i worked 12 hours per day, where got time left to come here and post?

got lah

12 hours work
7 sleep
1 makan
1 shower, wash, etc
1 housework
1 read your bible
1 miscellaneous, such as pcc or surf singsupplies

 

[Char_Azn]

I think this guy needs to be more innovative. I've seen a couple of cab drivers who make their own name cards on my company's admin pple's desk. Whenever they need to call a cab for the bosses, they will use those numbers.

 

[FuckSamLeong]

I think this guy needs to be more innovative. I've seen a couple of cab drivers who make their own name cards on my company's admin pple's desk. Whenever they need to call a cab for the bosses, they will use those numbers.

How much of a premium your company is willing to pay the taxi driver to drive from one end of the island to your location? Please don't try to smoke the readers. The guarantee that you will never drive a taxi in the future has yet to play out if you are just an employee with no savings that will last you through any levels of storms in the future!

 

[annexa]

Taxi driver make 2.5k a month. How much does a fresh university graduate make?

According to SMU's data, their fresh graduates earn about 2k a month BEFORE RECESSION, after you take out all the top 1%. Worse than drive taxi.

So pay so much money, study so hard got use? Is the gahmen bluffing us that study more will get more pay?

 

[Char_Azn]

Unlike U, I said this not because I look down on Cab drviers. U sound like all cab drivers are there only out of sheer desperation. I don't benefit from trying to "smoke" anyone in here. I'm posting this because of what I have seen with my own eyes.

And I just verified with the admin lady and she told me the reason why they kept calling the same guy is as follows:
1)save on booking charges
2)Personalized service, the guy know exactly where to wait for them and make sure they are waiting for the customers and not vice versa

Having a few different contacts ensures that we have alternatives should the guy be unavailable

How much the cab driver actually benefits from this? Well I guess its a guarantee that he has at least 1 customer at that particular time everyday. Not to mention we also use his services when we have guest visiting and we need someone to be there to pick them up.

 

[FuckSamLeong]

Unlike U, I said this not because I look down on Cab drviers. U sound like all cab drivers are there only out of sheer desperation. I don't benefit from trying to "smoke" anyone in here. I'm posting this because of what I have seen with my own eyes.

And I just verified with the admin lady and she told me the reason why they kept calling the same guy is as follows:
1)save on booking charges
2)Personalized service, the guy know exactly where to wait for them and make sure they are waiting for the customers and not vice versa

Having a few different contacts ensures that we have alternatives should the guy be unavailable

How much the cab driver actually benefits from this? Well I guess its a guarantee that he has at least 1 customer at that particular time everyday. Not to mention we also use his services when we have guest visiting and we need someone to be there to pick them up.

I will ask the same question again. How much of a premium over the meter charge is your company paying? Unlike the magnanimous PAP, taxi drivers have to consider the cost of opportunity loss.

 

[Char_Azn]

The fact that I told U the reason why the company call the cab directly and not book one is to save on the booking charges. Obviously they are not paying any extras for the service. The tradeoff is that they need to call the cab driver early so that he can make sure he is waiting at the meeting point before the customer reach there.

 

[FuckSamLeong]

So if a taxi driver were to adopt the strategy you had forwarded, he'll make lots of money? How many of this type of private bookings which don't command a premium over the standard fare is required in a day shift of 12 hours to make lots of money? And I am led to believe in the course of adopting this strategy, all road traffic will be cleared before hand to allow him to meet the timings of the bookings? And if one trip ends on one end of the island and the other starts on the other end ie...Changi Airport >< Tuas, he is allowed to speed like a demon on steroids to meet his obligations?

 

[Char_Azn]

I don't think U have finish reading my first post.

I already stated
1)We had to call in advance
2)The driver can have rejected a call before because he was busy

And No this isnt going to make him a millionaire anytime soon but as compared to not having a customer, he has a more stable income because he has a better way of getting customers.

Please note that I have no idea whether they are allowed to do this without going through the cab company. However there are pple doing this and there seem to be quite a few so I seriously don't think they have anything to lose if cab drivers are using such tactics

 

[scroobal]

He is right. Its growing in popularity especially among foreigners. Its also a safety issue when your foreign spouse and kids need to visit doctor, dentist etc. Its used to be like that in the old days with our parents with a favorite taxi driver.

If he is not available, you can always go to the normal taxi serivice. Its popular with the limousine and taxivan service.

Those who travel overseas often, tend to get the same chap. Its all on company expense.

Lawyers are well known for it as they often head to court and back.

Most Singaporeans don't use the service as they seldom take taxi on a regular basis. They either have their own transport or MRT/Bus.

So if a taxi driver were to adopt the strategy you had forwarded, he'll make lots of money? How many of this type of private bookings which don't command a premium over the standard fare is required in a day shift of 12 hours to make lots of money? And I am led to believe in the course of adopting this strategy, all road traffic will be cleared before hand to allow him to meet the timings of the bookings? And if one trip ends on one end of the island and the other starts on the other end ie...Changi Airport >< Tuas, he is allowed to speed like a demon on steroids to meet his obligations?

 

[FuckSamLeong]

Let me first reassure you I will not use the same language as I had used with some of the people here. I like to believe you genuinely think your suggestion would work. I respect that. So I will keep this civil. First of all, until five years ago, I was a taxi driver hirer for ten years.

Would taxi drivers love to take bookings? I'm sure some would and some would not. Why? Because like all self employed businessmen, they are counting dollars versus time.
Many will take long distance bookings at the start of their shifts. And logically another long distance booking if they can find it, one that ends at their shift changing locations.

The kind of cab drivers you are talking about would be the "limo" drivers who recently downgraded themselves to calling them "white cars" because Mercs are now very common. And boy these guys are accountants! Please don't let anybody believe that they would be willing to take bookings on standard fares. Please, you have to drive a cab full time for at least three years before you can consider yourself a veteran and can speak with conviction about what is true and what is not!

 

[cowbellc]

wah if i worked 12 hours per day, where got time left to come here and post?

i work 14 hrs a day and im still psoting

 

[makapaaa]

>>>I took a taxi from airport to home. The taxi driver was previously working as an electrician in a town council. The town council outsourced the work to a contractor who brought in foreign workers and depressed the wage to $1,500. He was not able to accept this reduced pay. So, he decided to drive a taxi.<<<

But the 'savings' have gone to increasing the Papayas' own pay to billions. What gives? Still donch want to revolt against the wicked and greedy Papaya TRAITORS?

 

[FuckSamLeong]

>>>I took a taxi from airport to home. The taxi driver was previously working as an electrician in a town council. The town council outsourced the work to a contractor who brought in foreign workers and depressed the wage to $1,500. He was not able to accept this reduced pay. So, he decided to drive a taxi.<<<

But the 'savings' have gone to increasing the Papayas' own pay to billions. What gives? Still donch want to revolt against the wicked and greedy Papaya TRAITORS?

How much income in the form of GST are taxi drivers paying on their rental and diesel a year?

 

[Cestbon]

$2500 nett/month really very less.
Taxi driver do have CPF,medical claim,no leave, no AWS & bonus, no any benefit at all.
If pay HDB flat installment let say $800~$1000. How much does he have left pay paying other bills.............
Those getting pay $1200 basic is better than him if add in AWS&bonus, medical claim, CPF(14.5% employer). Only need to work 9 hour 22 day/month. If add in OT for working 12hr every day sure can make more than $3K.

 

[Char_Azn]

The kind of cab drivers you are talking about would be the "limo" drivers who recently downgraded themselves to calling them "white cars" because Mercs are now very common. And boy these guys are accountants! Please don't let anybody believe that they would be willing to take bookings on standard fares. Please, you have to drive a cab full time for at least three years before you can consider yourself a veteran and can speak with conviction about what is true and what is not!

I dun know how it works out for the cab driver and I dun want to pretend to know too much other then the conclusion I tried to come up with earlier

I only know that

1. Cab drivers ARE doing it, and no I'm NOT lying
2. The same guy my company uses frequently have been doing it since before I was working here(more then 3 yrs now)
3. On the desk of the office admin lady are 3 name cards from 3 different cab drivers with their direct phone numbers should we need to contact them for their services

If it doesn't work, I would think all 3 of them would have given up taking this type of job a long time ago.

 

[makapaaa]

>>>He is right. Its growing in popularity especially among foreigners. Its also a safety issue when your foreign spouse and kids need to visit doctor, dentist etc. Its used to be like that in the old days with our parents with a favorite taxi driver. <<<

Just like one set of colonial masters being replaced by a set of leegalized local mafia? And the poor gets poorer while the rich richer?

 

[halsey02]

Taxi driver make 2.5k a month. How much does a fresh university graduate make?

According to SMU's data, their fresh graduates earn about 2k a month BEFORE RECESSION, after you take out all the top 1%. Worse than drive taxi.

So pay so much money, study so hard got use? Is the gahmen bluffing us that study more will get more pay?

estimate lah, China Ah Mei, less sleeping time, eating time, go to toilet etc...

say work 8 hrs a day, S$100 a shot, $800 a day, say work 6 days a week, $4,800, in a month, less 7 days (assuming 7 days, some 3 days) for maintence, 30 - 7 x $800 = $18,400 a month..

just open clothes, open mouth, open legs..open whatever needs to be opned...why crack the brains to get Master's Dehree & help the fianancial institutions or whatever to loose billions...no need to study books.....