There are two letters in the Straits Times Forum about the poor standard of taxi service in Singapore. Taxis are not available on rainy days to pick up passengers at taxi stands or on the road, but they become available on taxi calls,where a large surcharge had to be paid. Commuters have been asking the authority to act against errant taxi drivers.
This type of complaints had been aired on countless occasions in past years. Nothing has been done to address this situation. It is not possible to rein in the errant taxi drivers, who have their own side of the story to tell. They have to pay high taxi rental fees and need the surcharge to make a living.
This is Singapore! Everyone is in the business of ripping off the consumers to make the extra buck. This is why citizens are complaining about the high cost of living in Singapore. And this is possible in the pro-business culture that is being encouraged by our government of the day.
What can be done to improve our taxi service? I have written a letter to the Straits Times. I hope that they publish it.
Tan Kin Lian
For productivity to improve in any type of work, be it horse racing to baking cakes:
ReplyDeleteThe work must be meaningful and challenging.
Meaningful = passion
Challenging= targets
Taxi service can be improved by:
1) Pay a basic salary
2) Set daily,weekly and monthly targets for sales ( paid rides )
3) Select candidates who have service in their minds
4) Enforcement of conduct
5) Design a mission statement.
At the moment, none of this exists
and each driver is let loose as long as rental is paid.
No committment to service
No belief to a mission
No loyalty
try this method with SIA or Robinsons and see if you will get quality service.
We have repeatedly commented that Raymond Lim is not solving the problem but simply adopting a stopgap measure that works for a short period before the same problem comes back again. This clearly shows that the minister does not understand the conditions on the ground. Now the situation is back to before and inspiteof the more expensive fares it is still difficult to get a cab, even during off peak periods.
ReplyDeleteU only get to know the real perspective of the taxi drivers after you drive one.
ReplyDelete