Taxi hirers: Good relief drivers hard to find
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Cabby Woo Chong Guan spent 15 years hiring his vehicle from a taxi firm and renting it out to a relief driver after his shifts.
But finding such drivers did not prove easy and it was this burden - together with concern for his health - that prompted the 52-year-old to become a relief driver himself in May last year.
Last week, the National Taxi Association suggested increasing the pool of 10,000 relief drivers in an effort to meet improved standards being set by the Land Transport Authority, which wants to ensure enough cabs are on the road at peak times. This move would see more "two-shift" taxis on the road virtually round the clock.
However, Mr Woo, who is on the road from 7am to 7pm every day except Sunday, said finding reliable partners to work with is not easy. "It's a give-and-take relationship," he said. "Sometimes there are misunderstandings."
Some cabbies run over their time when they take more passengers at the end of a shift. Others complain their partners do not pump enough petrol into the cab when they hand it over, he said.
In June, the LTA set up a website to match hirers with relief drivers but by the end of October, it had only made 48 matches.
From January to September, the proportion of two-shift taxis on Singapore's roads was 56 per cent, up from about 50 per cent in that period last year.
Typically, a cab on a single shift is on the road from eight to 12 hours a day, while those with a relief driver can be on the move for up to 24 hours.
National Taxi Association adviser Ang Hin Kee says more can be done to increase the pool of relief drivers. As of August, there were about 98,620 taxi drivers' vocational licence holders.
"It's good that LTA portal can give some supplementary help," said Mr Ang, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC. "But at the end of the day, it falls back on the owner of the vehicle to find a better solution," He has called for a review of the taxi business model, whereby operators rent out their cabs. The seven taxi operators here own about 27,000 vehicles altogether.
With the existing model, hirers are in a poorer bargaining position because they bear the full burden of finding relief drivers to share the vehicle's rental cost, he said.
There is also the hassle of finding drivers near their homes, working out private agreements, and settling disputes.
"Cab companies can be more proactive in helping all drivers take part-ownership of the vehicles instead of leaving it to hirers," he said. "It's not about put- ting more cabs on the road, but making each cab work harder."
A spokesman for the LTA said it will look into NTA's suggestion to increase the relief drivers pool.
Mr Zali Abu, 52, a cabby for more than 20 years, works closely with four relief drivers. "I'm quite easy-going. They just need to keep the vehicle clean, pump the petrol and pay the rental," he said. "But I've heard of cases where hirers are fussy and end up quarrelling with their partners."
Some cabbies prefer to work solo. Cabby C.S. Lee, 57, said: "Maybe they want to go home to rest and come out to drive again during the peak hours."
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again my personnel opinion would be "chicken & egg" case
hirer beh gum with relief n relief beh gum with hirer
some just can't click...
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Human relationship is never a science or a facts that can formula something out of it, same goes to bf, gf, husband and wife relationship, that is also how people find their partner, and there are also many divorcing, in fact, now more than marry. In any relationship, there must be a common interest, both parties, altho got their own interest, both need to put certain effort to concentrate on that common interest, nobody owe anyone a living, hirer dun owe relief for a living and nor does relief owe hirer a living, the common interest lies in both wanting to make a living out of a rented cab, coupled with maturity and humanity, it can work out to be a good partnership, but bear in mind that, no relationship last forever, not even husband and wife, everything must end with a separation, either death or simply being there for the sake of being there.
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Long ago, I already give you the hint on the restructuring of taxi rental business model, what is pulling back these companies from starting is base on 2 points 1. With 2 hirers one cab system, problem and admin fall back on companies, meaning more work for companies, eg, a hirer just return his cab, he careless if the other hirer take over or not as both are adminstrated by the companies. 2. The wait and see strategy, many knows that the big brother in taxi companies is cdg, the rest are waiting for cdg to implement it, then wait to see it result, then decide on the viability to follow such model. But for fare and rental increases, today, they do not need to wait for cdg.
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Relief can come and go anytime
like part time driver, no commitment
hirer suck thumb, gotta deal with company
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Well, to be fair, without hirer, where got relief? Hirer can go omo, but with no hirer, what is relief? Hirer alway start with a chiong OMO mentality, and as it goes on, it breed selfishness and protective mindset, so they expect relief to be discipline like them, care for the cab after all the caring he had given. And that at time, exceed the requirement leading to no relief wanting to drive for him. After they chiong 12 per days for a while, they, the hirers, be it health, tired or family pressure start to look for relief, after getting a relief, they feel so much healthier and relax, then from normal to weekends, they start to look for reliefs, end up have 3 to 4 reliefs, and they themselves getting lazier and lazier as time goes by...end up throw key and be relief themselves
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Originally posted by bowah:
Well, to be fair, without hirer, where got relief? Hirer can go omo, but with no hirer, what is relief?
Hirer alway start with a chiong OMO mentality, and as it goes on, it breed selfishness and protective mindset, so they expect relief to be discipline like them, care for the cab after all the caring he had given. And that at time, exceed the requirement leading to no relief wanting to drive for him.
After they chiong 12 per days for a while, they, the hirers, be it health, tired or family pressure start to look for relief, after getting a relief, they feel so much healthier and relax, then from normal to weekends, they start to look for reliefs, end up have 3 to 4 reliefs, and they themselves getting lazier and lazier as time goes by…end up throw key and be relief themselveswhere got get lazy? if things worked well song leh
i also got 2 reliefs,iam v happy bcoz can get to spend "more" time with family
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Aiyo, happy tio ho lor.....
I OMO for so many ccb years also like that.....
If you think that relief is better, go for it la.....
If you think that OMO can generate more income with much longer hour of driving, just do it la.....
End of the day, pocket got money than is important.....
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You OMO happy?? then why everyday must pray hard for 4D to come out? Taxi driving work this way, as newbie, first few months very happy, after that, sad all the way.
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Originally posted by getcarter:
where got
i also got 2 reliefs,iam v happy bcoz can get to spend "more" time with family
True...
We 3 driver share a cab
Every time can go off (a week notice)
The other 2 take over ... and when who tired, sick, red or white business, very easy to chiam siong.
I think super relief registered with company is future trend, n prime omo is out
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Originally posted by Atohuat:
True...
We 3 driver share a cab
Every time can go off (a week notice)
The other 2 take over ... and when who tired, sick, red or white business, very easy to chiam siong.
I think super relief registered with company is future trend, n prime omo is out
Arbo, limpeh do super relief, lower rental, somemore sometime hirer cannot comeback, will SMS me to drive at 1/2 rental, so depend lor, if he go china holiday extended due to PRC gf wanted to chop him further and he himself want to suck PRC cb, then I will tell him go fly kite, but if Hirer is sick or hospitalise, I will pity him, paid him full rental price.