Really needed an income back then. No time to dilly dally with hirer/relief problems. Signed with Comfort 6mths and bring taxi home. (Anyway they sponsored the course and paid for my time at the academy).
6mths of doing both day and night shifts makes me learn faster. The day shift can bring you to places you don't during the night shift and vice versa.
Morning customers can be more critical as most will be rushing to work, you have to know traffic conditions and be in the correct lanes in traffic jams. Some lanes move and some don't. Many customers can guide you because they travel through the same jams regularly.
'Going-home' passengers are more relaxed. They most probably won't be time constraint. That's why evening jams are slower and takes longer to discisipate. Damn those drivers taking their own sweet time where we cabbies need to be fast to make the most of time left.
First 6mths let customers fuck, after 1 year can fuck customers liao.
Now pick and choose your relief driver.
5pm to 1am can nett $100 if u are seasoned,that is if you are on half shift rental,OMO very difficult
You must make full use of the $3 CBD & $3.50 on call & learn the different ways to different expressway from town example how to reach Nicoll HW from Shenton way & how to reach AYE(Tuas) from Market street. Trust me lots of pax will ask you go by Nicoll-KPE-PIE if they going eastern part from town.
If u go by CTE-PIE sure kena whack
Gd luck
still remember my first on call from 1 Raffles Quay to Pasir ris st 11
I happy happy reach there only to find out Ive shoot wrongly to 1 Raffles Link
Then only managed to pick up the pax 15mins late,luckily pax very nice waited for me.then happy happy shoot up ECP-PIE-TPE-Pasir ris! OMG
Again pax super nice don't mind me taking that super long route,he even teach me say next time can take nicoll-kpe-pie alot shorter
Now I'm alot better liao after OMO for 3mths tried all shifts,still the same word,must die die whack the roads to learn
hi bro teolk
thanks for sharing your story...i understand what you meant here....
i will just try to do relief and see how things goes and adjust from there , i think it will be better that way..
bro poolman
thanks for your info , for a veteran like you, what you think its a optimal schedule plan for a newbie like me driving from 5-5am? like a start out route plan or smething? where do you think i should start if i drive off from Ghim Moh at 5pm? how should the plan be bro
i aso agree with the burden of being a hirer, especially for a newbie , dun even know how to make a living liao, so blur, still must stress if can find a relief, weekends still must drive to cover cost etc..all in all..the stress of being a hirer is a bit too much for a newbie i think for the starting part..i will just be a relief first and see how things goes....
bro ALN
yup, i agree..just whack, not happy then change hirer...but my hirer say he dun mind sending me hme, but just the hassle of waiting i reckon, what if certain days i want to stop early etc...for 100-120, i think i will have to waste alot more time as a newbie, dun think i can make it by 1am la..
i have been jobless for 4 months liao, this period of endless waiting in agony sucks man, no money to bring back, every day kena nag and nag, and the LTA works so slow to issue me the licence ,sigh.....
although i am not sure abt taxi driving as a means to livelihood , but it sure am better then doing nothing right ? i am also worried about routes and stuff, but what to do? just got to bite the bullets and try...
KNN Ghim Moh is a pot of gold , unlike where i stay ( CCK ) !!! hahaha
Ghim Moh ? KNN Biofusion , or Ayer Rajah , or NUH , Buona Vista MRT also can ( but sian , always jam ) .
Me on Comfort , Holland Grove or Mt Sinai many bookings , hehehehe .... during 5pm period .
I like going into Portsdown Road , inside many ang mo ...due to Tanglin Trust int'l school , they usually stay near Grange Road , near Town or Orchard .
of course some stay Clementi Sunset Way , many at Holland Road , Holland Height and Holland Hill .
Ayer Rajah solid la , INSEAD is the best ...many Any mo ....taking cabs to town for food . They usually stay inside INSEAD , INSEAD is a French Private Uni , very establish , all solid at least a Honours Degree fellas ....
KNN Dover even better , whole stretch got chance , schools , ACS , Methodist School , United World College etc .... ACJC .
Once got school , expect customers .
United World College the students all High Calibre one , top IQ calibre , damn rich parents and background ...they take only cabs . Their parents never pick them up . They all TAXI !!!
Inside Ayer Rajah Cresent , also very good chance to get pax .
Many companies , MNC . Starhub , JVC , Siemens etc .... and some smaller cat companies ...also great potentials .
Infact , there is a quite a new road , linking Ayer Rajah Cresent into Portsdown , inside there is a NUS Club .... so another chance to get a pax .
if the place i mention , u still so sway cannot get pax , u know where's NUH , right ? Q-up lor ...surely got pax go western singapore , jurong , bt batok , bt panjang , wland etc ... no way one come up and say : " Pasir Ris " , got la , but seldom . 1 in 10 times . Mostly west .... north .
Science Park Drive inside also whole stretch got chance .
KNN still no pax ? Drive down into 99 wan lor ....South Buona Vista Road , down all the way to Pasir Panjang Road , those warehouses ..... than Alexandra Road also not bad ... Harbourfront also not bad ...
If still no pax .... down into CBD , no choice liao , pay ERP , hope to get $3 extra city charge cover a bit of your diesels .
This is my style ....
My style is always SCHOOL or COMPANIES area , not residential .
Night shift must go office area , not residential .
sometimes , town maybe Quiet , so stick around near Ghim Moh is good ....places like Clementi MRT , polytechnics , NUH.... take a few short distance , is better than go round and round , then one mid distance .
hi bro Poolman and ALN
thanks for the advice..i will try to do that..hope i can do it ..
so from 5pm to 8 pm i shd concentrate more in town area right ? then after 8 pm its anything to anywhere right ?
from 5 pm i zoom off to office area like you guys mention, and see where they gg, then go back to town right ? to and fro town till abt 8pm after the peak hours charges are over ..
then i will adhoc, after 8 pm how u guys suggest i should ply? as i would be picking up the silvercab , so i shd be no on call service
Originally posted by newguy32:hi bro Poolman and ALN
thanks for the advice..i will try to do that..hope i can do it ..
so from 5pm to 8 pm i shd concentrate more in town area right ? then after 8 pm its anything to anywhere right ?from 5 pm i zoom off to office area like you guys mention, and see where they gg, then go back to town right ? to and fro town till abt 8pm after the peak hours charges are over ..
then i will adhoc, after 8 pm how u guys suggest i should ply? as i would be picking up the silvercab , so i shd be no on call service
SilverCab got on-call service , it's the walkie talkie type ... but forget it , most veteran super fast .
Faster than u can think of .
i started Comfort without any distraction of MDT .
Cos the old man ordered Comfort to dismantle the set .. no use to him .
So i started off as a taxi stand cabby . Strictly street hire only .
Mind you , i have to thank that old man , by taking out the MDT , it culitvate me to work hard on the road , not on the on-call .
First 6 months only , after that , my hirer installed that time the trial set of the 2nd Generation MDT . From there i became a on-call man .
Good luck to newguy .... last advice , never be too shy to ask !!
Asked ... go wrong , ask again ....wrong again , ask again ... until it go all right !!!
If don't ask , anyhow humtum , customers got pissed off , u got more problem .
ASK .... i was in sales line , ASK stands for
Aggressiveness
Skill
Knowledge .
But in taxi term , on the 2nd and third applies , agressiveness dun work for taxi . ok la..... aggressive in working hard , that's all .
hi bro ALN and poolman
i have confirm with my hirer, and i starting this coming monday ..
abit worried here...dunno how things will turn out ....
any good advice for a newbie first day ? do u think i should just stay around the area i am familiar with , and get myself familairse with the car etc, rather then venture into town?
hows the pax activities in cbd? is it easy to get pax?
normally in CBD, where do you suggest we pick up from ?
is it 5 to 8pm got $3 plus 35% then after 8pm to 12 its $3 extra? just want to confirm..
after 12 mdnight, where normally can i pick up pax?
any advice is really appreicated
bro ALN
the kia magentis is 103 per day, no contract, got incentive , i am considering, but then, better get myself more familiarise after i started.
i also looking at the transcab Wish, i heard its a one year contract running on CNG .
got hirer incentive too
Any bros her took up the offer?
hey newguy , tell you what ...newbies has got all those luck .
Also ... the more u do not want to go to a certain place .... u more u will get one , trust me .
Say u not familiar with Sengkang , i won't be surprise , ur first pax , hop in and say : " Uncle , Sengkang ! "
So my advice , take whatever shit thrown at you , be ready for the war ahead ....
Fight like a warrior , have more self confidence , must have a lot of rest , and patience .
And always think and work like a piece of sponge , absorb whatever u can .