View Full Version : Singapore has the world’s worst taxi drivers
Do you think so? The writer might not have been to Malaysia, China and Philippines yet.
http://sbr.com.sg/transport-logistics/commentary/singapore-has-world%E2%80%99s-worst-taxi-drivers
iwantgizmos
24-07-12, 11:38
Do you think so? The writer might not have been to Malaysia, China and Philippines yet.
http://sbr.com.sg/transport-logistics/commentary/singapore-has-world%E2%80%99s-worst-taxi-drivers
The main problem I face is when on expressway can drive fast, they dunno how to speed up, but when on minor road must slow down, they dunno how to slow down. :) :) :)
buttercarp
24-07-12, 11:43
Wah lau.... I never met a person so jinx before.
Take taxi so many times the driver dunno the way or take long way.
With smartphones and GPS it will get better over time.
Next time just say the destination or key in postal code, a route will be plotted to the destination.
We are not there yet, but will get there.
The writer Chris Reed is a smart alec "chow ang moh" that is critical of Singapore... most of his articles hit at the Government, the country and its people.
Yes... our taxi drivers have some way to go.. but clearly he is biased... there are far worse taxi drivers in Europe, South America and Asia.
The best taxi drivers are in Japan... (they cost an arm and a leg to take) and even then they may have difficulty finding the exact place that you want to go in downtown Tokyo unless it is some well known site.
S'pore has the best taxi drivers, even PHD educated.
buttercarp
24-07-12, 14:04
S'pore has the best taxi drivers, even PHD educated.
Yup... perhaps more educated than the critical author.
Best of all, SG taxi drivers are one of the world's most trustworthy ones.
In SG, we can safely let our teenage kids take taxi.
I won't even dare take a taxi in Malaysia unless I am accompanied by an adult male.
Wah lau.... I never met a person so jinx before.
Take taxi so many times the driver dunno the way or take long way.
One world expressed all... Suay..
buttercarp
24-07-12, 14:34
One world expressed all... Suay..
I agree :) ....yup....suay!
But the writer prolly dunno wat is suay.
The writer Chris Reed is a smart alec "chow ang moh" that is critical of Singapore... most of his articles hit at the Government, the country and its people.
Yes... our taxi drivers have some way to go.. but clearly he is biased... there are far worse taxi drivers in Europe, South America and Asia.
The best taxi drivers are in Japan... (they cost an arm and a leg to take) and even then they may have difficulty finding the exact place that you want to go in downtown Tokyo unless it is some well known site.
Writer only know how to whine and whine only without any solution or contribution
I agree :) ....yup....suay!
But the writer prolly dunno wat is suay.
That the beauty , let him find out by himself ..
The writer does not understand that in local culture, it is not uncommon for the taxi driver to ask which way does the passenger wish to go by... this may not mean he does not know the way but simply means that he is giving the passenger a choice of routes..
this ang moh needs to come down his high horse and not be so judgemental in order for him to understand this little quirk of living in Singapore.
Having said that, there are Singapore taxi drivers that not that efficient with directions... but that doesn't make them the worst taxi drivers in the world... there are far worse things a taxi driver can do to you other than getting you to your destination later.
Alan Shearer
24-07-12, 16:41
The writer is obviously not well traveled.
His article is a work of fiction or he is taking the piss.
Somebody pays him to write that drivel???
Writer only know how to whine and whine only without any solution or contribution
hi, are you suffering from reading comprehensiontitis like i am?
i think that the writer does give solutions, ie intensive training (like london taxi driver) and opening taxi driver occupation to foreigners (who will work their butt off).
my apologies if i miss comprehend.
Singapore has the best taxi drivers. Colleagues from other countries also agree. They like SG so much that they turned PR or try to relocate here.
Singapore has the best taxi drivers. Colleagues from other countries also agree. They like SG so much that they turned PR or try to relocate here.
seems to me from comments above, foreigner who criticise singapore are considered not well travelled, no weight, and bad foreigner.
foreigner who praised singapore taxi drivers, implied their well travelled, so their praises have weight and considered good foreigner.
people are funny sometimes.:rolleyes:.
You see, this guy doesn't say....Singapore taxi drivers have these certain areas to improve. He instead says Singapore taxi drivers are the worst in the world... no argument... his word is final.
He even goes on to say that an Indian getting off a plane first time in Singapore can do a better job.
Is that a fair statement?
Bro Hopeful, even if you are not a Singaporean surely this shouldn't sound right to you...
seems to me from comments above, foreigner who criticise singapore are considered not well travelled, no weight, and bad foreigner.
foreigner who praised singapore taxi drivers, implied their well travelled, so their praises have weight and considered good foreigner.
people are funny sometimes.:rolleyes:.
You see, this guy doesn't say....Singapore taxi drivers have these certain areas to improve. He instead says Singapore taxi drivers are the worst in the world... no argument... his word is final.
He even goes on to say that an Indian getting off a plane first time in Singapore can do a better job.
Is that a fair statement?
Bro Hopeful, even if you are not a Singaporean surely this shouldn't sound right to you...
that is of course not a fact neither is it a fair statement, with no facts nor statistics to back him up.
That is hyperbole, just to exagerate and attract attention and possibly front page news? remember mediocrity doesnt make the news.
but missing taxi drivers before midnight, shift change experienced by singaporeans also. I have experienced his problems except for taxi drivers dont know their way, which seems to be the main gripe of his article.
but the reactions of singaporeans to his criticism of singapore taxi drivers are interesting, not he or his article itself.
rymccondo77
24-07-12, 22:34
that is of course not a fact neither is it a fair statement, with no facts nor statistics to back him up.
That is hyperbole, just to exagerate and attract attention and possibly front page news? remember mediocrity doesnt make the news.
but missing taxi drivers before midnight, shift change experienced by singaporeans also. I have experienced his problems except for taxi drivers dont know their way, which seems to be the main gripe of his article.
but the reactions of singaporeans to his criticism of singapore taxi drivers are interesting, not he or his article itself.
Yup, this guy is in the marketing field, so he uses the headline to catch our attention.
Personally, I have my share of good and bad taxi drivers in Singapore (and abroad too).
Of course, to call our taxi drivers the worst in the world is gross exaggeration. Interestingly in the comments section of the article, he acknowledges someone's feedback that Singapore taxi drivers are perhaps the worst amongst the rich, developed countries but not in the world.
Yes... agree with the rest of points.
Some of which are result of incentivising taxi drivers to work night shifts and ensuring that passengers at airports never have to wait for a taxi after a 30 hour flight instead the taxis are waiting for them.... among others... yes its not perfect... but the worst in the world?
It is very typical of Chris Reed to be critical of Singapore and its people, he makes his comments more out of arrogance than wisdom, it is not his first article critical of Singapore. This is unlike say Neil Humphreys who observes and points out the eccentricities of Singapore but recognises it as a quirk.
By the way, like you said, his main gripe is the about being asked which way to go to a certain destination which he takes as a sign of not knowing where or how to go...
I have taken taxis all over the world including his beloved London and would you believe me if I say that I have to sometimes tell the London taxi driver where and how to go to my destination? I swear it did happen on my last trip to London a few months ago.
Yes you are right, a lot of literary licence has been used on this article... this includes the listing of all the direction confusion incidents that was supposed to have happened in the last week... but if you read it carefully, it does not say that it happened to him personally.
Anyway, since I am a Singaporean (and a proud one at that), there is a problem with me if I just take it like that sitting down right?
that is of course not a fact neither is it a fair statement, with no facts nor statistics to back him up.
That is hyperbole, just to exagerate and attract attention and possibly front page news? remember mediocrity doesnt make the news.
but missing taxi drivers before midnight, shift change experienced by singaporeans also. I have experienced his problems except for taxi drivers dont know their way, which seems to be the main gripe of his article.
but the reactions of singaporeans to his rants are the ones that's interesting, not he or his article itself.
.....
Anyway, since I am a Singaporean (and a proud one at that), there is a problem with me if I just take it like that sitting down right?
it shows that singaporeans are united. :)
they may criticise each other, infighting etc, but when outsider step in and attacked, they band together to shoot the outsider down.
like it is a bad dog, but it is my dog. :)
Joking, writers obviously not well traveled... Malaysia, china, new York! Worse
buttercarp
25-07-12, 08:59
Anyway, since I am a Singaporean (and a proud one at that), there is a problem with me if I just take it like that sitting down right?
Me too...proud to be Singaporean.
Was in Sapporro at the cheese factory with 2 other family friends and their families.
A Japanese lady asked us if we were from China.
When I told her Ïe chigaimasu, Singapore kara desu (No, from Singapore), I felt a sense of pride. And the lady smiled at us.
Then on the same trip, a tour guide from China was quite lost, and he approached us for directions, thinking we were Japanese ( He spoke to us in broken English). Then we spoke to him in Chinese and he smiled and asked us where we are from and again , when we said from Singapore, I felt a sense of pride!
opps !!...del..duplicate posting ..
hi, are you suffering from reading comprehensiontitis like i am?
i think that the writer does give solutions, ie intensive training (like london taxi driver) and opening taxi driver occupation to foreigners (who will work their butt off).
my apologies if i miss comprehend.
nn offence at all..
don see by opening to taxi driver occupation to foreigner will improve the quality any way. culturally is already different. will that bring better service ? also, the taxi vocational licence is already open to foreigner. or the few occasion were driven by foreigners ?
and we have also the Singapore Taxi Academy conducting training as well before issue any vocational licence.
i don see the writer offer any , or perhaps, should call constructive contribution.
Maybe i may be too protective to sg or to our ppl. but stilll...is about us.
Yes... that is right.
Won't shoot all outsiders lah... for me, those outsiders who choose to stay and fight alongside other Singaporeans deserve my respect and comradeship too.
it shows that singaporeans are united. :)
they may criticise each other, infighting etc, but when outsider step in and attacked, they band together to shoot the outsider down.
like it is a bad dog, but it is my dog. :)
The more I read the article, the more I get angry with it, couldn't bother to finish up reading. He is trying to use "one bamboo stick to hit the whole ship". Why he is so "suay", couldn't believe it, all those places that he mentioned are so popular in Singapore, how can our beloved taxi-drivers don't know their ways. One reason I can think of is his command of English, might be "TOO POWERFUL" for the taxi-driver to understand where he actually wanted to go. If not, how can the same type of problem happens to him so many times. If he is so unhappy with our taxi-drivers, take MRT loh, aiya so simple also don't know. :D
Me too...proud to be Singaporean.
Was in Sapporro at the cheese factory with 2 other family friends and their families.
A Japanese lady asked us if we were from China.
When I told her Ïe chigaimasu, Singapore kara desu (No, from Singapore), I felt a sense of pride. And the lady smiled at us.
Then on the same trip, a tour guide from China was quite lost, and he approached us for directions, thinking we were Japanese ( He spoke to us in broken English). Then we spoke to him in Chinese and he smiled and asked us where we are from and again , when we said from Singapore, I felt a sense of pride!
Same same, I also feel proud to be a Singaporean. Everytime during my holiday with my family and brother & sister-in-laws, when someone asked us where we came from, all of us would say "SINGAPORE":cheers4:.
There are things in Singapore and Singaporeans which I dislike but taxi drivers aren't one of those.
Allthepies
25-07-12, 23:25
Great to be a Singaporean! No doubt about it! :cheers4:
Cancel his EP and ask him take a taxi straight to Changi and f off.
Really hate this type of chao angmo.
:47:
what I think taxi drivers should improve:
1. do not make illegal u-turn
2. do not stop to pick up passengers at the bus bay
but rear still protruding on the lane and the car behind
has to quickly siam to avoid accident
3. do not stop at yellow box to pick up passengers
4. do not stop at traffic light to pick up passengers
5. do signal when they need to stop to pick passengers
or move off
6. do not horn madly at the car in front who is taking
just that 1 sec more to read the traffic light correctly
whether can turn or not
:D
IMHO, in every job or anywhere, there will probably have some "black sheep" but don't jump to conclusion that all the people in this "so and so place or field" are bad. :tongue3:
The writer Chris Reed is a smart alec "chow ang moh" that is critical of Singapore... most of his articles hit at the Government, the country and its people.
Yes... our taxi drivers have some way to go.. but clearly he is biased... there are far worse taxi drivers in Europe, South America and Asia.
The best taxi drivers are in Japan... (they cost an arm and a leg to take) and even then they may have difficulty finding the exact place that you want to go in downtown Tokyo unless it is some well known site.
Should this guy be excommunicated from Singapore for defaming our taxi drivers?
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