My Adventures with Taxi Drivers

December 1, 2005 Leave a comment


On an average, I took about 1,200 cab trips per year. That worked out to be about 3.2 cab-trip per day. Quite a conservative number, I guess. So, if I convert that to an estimated cost (based on $5/trip), the final figure can be quite alarming. We are talking about $6,000 – $8,000 per annual. Imagine the kind of money I can save by walking. And if I am a 4D fan, I would have more than a thousand 4D to play with.
 
Of course, as much as 45% of the $8,000 are "covered" by my company. So, it is still cheaper than owning a car. I have no petrol hike to worry…or extra insurance to bear. On the minimum, I will need to spend about $8/day for my transport to work and back to home. So, it cost me about $2,500/annual for my transport to work and back.
 
Friends who have taken cab with me would know that how much I enjoyed chatting with these drivers. For the past 5 years, I may have came into contact with about 6,000 cab drivers (on the assumption that I didn’t take the same cab twice). I have met all kind of cab drivers – from the wise ones to ah beng ones, from the really rude ones to the very enterprising one.
 
But every journey, I absorbed a little tale about the drivers and their own "philosophy" about their job, their families and their perception of our country. Most of the time, I learnt to see a different perspective from these humble people. (Confirmed: there isn’t a young pretty female driver in the cohort of taxi drivers).
 
You will be surprised with the kind of drivers I have encountered. Here are some of my "more interesting" encounters:
 
1) The Extra Service One
One driver threw me a black book of female names. He personally recommended to me a lady called "QiQi". He told me that these are the "hookers" who booked his services on a regular basis. He denied taking commission or "pimp’s fee" but he said he can recommend one that will suit my taste.
 
2) The Secret Society One
One driver fetched me and mistaken for a "client" whom he needs to ferry for a "black business deal". He claimed he was working for an established secret society and ferried "special guests" from airports, hotels and secret gambling dens. He never knew who his "special guests" are, except he will pick them up at specific locations. These guests were mainly new hookers from China, pimps and loan-sharks.
 
3) The Asset-Rich but Cash-Poor One
This Cabbie was eating sushi and offering me some. He told me that he was a Japanese chef and own a condo. Due to bad investment, he has to find $4K every month to pay for his 1.6L car, his condo and other instalments. So, how much he earns as a chef – close to $3K! And driving cab will give him an extra $1K a month.
 
4) The Ex-Millionaire
He was a hotel owner in Vietnam in the early 1990s. He spoke superb fluent English and dressed differently. He had all the magazines that I dun even read – Fortune, Economic Review, Singapore Tatler etc. Sound like a real enterpriser, he went bust in the late 1990s and had to drive cab to make a living now. He is also the one who gave me this 3 golden health rules – "Healthy in the Mind, the Body and the Spirit"
 
 
5) The Salesman
Driving a cab is his part-time job. He is a salesman. He is into all kinds of business – from selling handphone accessories to property agent, he was running around – meeting his clients. During break, he would use his cab as another money-making tool, fetching clients around. Why dun you just own a car, I asked. He replied, "cab is cheaper, only no image. But client won’t know". Driving a cab is cheaper, more flexible than owning a car or renting it. What’s more, he only need the cab in the day. At nights and weekends, he rent it out.
 
 
6) Unbelievable: The One that Fetched me 5 Times
He is a perfect stranger. We dun live near one another. I didn’t make a transport deal with him. Strange but true – and possibly 1 in a million – on 5 different occassions, he picked me off the road and we recognised one another. He has a little doll that he clipped on his mirror and a Siemens ads behind. The first 4 trips are:
 
a) From Eunos to Changi Hospital
b) From Katong to Tampines
c) From Bugis to Eunos
d) From Simei to Eunos
 
I just bumped into him again last Tuesday (from Eunos to Katong). Guess what? His cab is running my Konica Minolta ad now. His name is Mr Rashid and he drives a blue comfort: SHA 6754T.
 

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