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Becoming A Taxi Driver - What You Are Getting Yourself Into

Lynette Tan
Updated

This article was originally on GET.com at: Becoming A Taxi Driver - What You Are Getting Yourself Into

So you think you are a moving Singapore road directory? Some of us may have heard about tales of freedom associated with a taxi driver’s life, topped off with a decent earning.

This is true to an extent, but we are only just scratching the surface when it comes to understanding the real life of a cabbie.

Here, GET.com brings up 4 points that explain what it's really like to be a taxi driver, so that you can consider them before taking the plunge.

1. How Much Can You Earn?

The daily rental for a cab is $80 to $120 and petrol costs around $80 for a day’s work. This works out to a daily cost of $200, but it's usually split between the main hirer and his relief driver.

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Assuming you drive a 12-hour shift fetching around 15 passengers in total and each fare averages around $15, you should be earning around $140 after all the deductions.

This equals an average monthly income of more than $4,000 with no days off and no sick leaves. While $4,000 per month seems like a decent amount, I'm not sure it's the best for a work-life balance.

2. Health Concerns

Most taxi drivers suffer from hypertension, hemorrhoids and bad sleep. The long hours of sitting down also mean backaches.

Toilet breaks can also be a bother as you can only stop by petrol stations to relieve yourself and they are probably not the cleanest around. Not to mention the risks of infection should you get passengers who are sick.

On a lighter note, there will be occasional annoyances from passengers who leave a stench behind after eating durian, spicy hotpot or some “heavy-duty” foods.

3. Costs Are Just Going To Increase

When taxi companies increased the fares for flag-down rates, they attributed the reasons to “helping cabbies to better cope in today’s higher costs of living”.

At the same time, ComfortDelco (the biggest cab company in Singapore) is reported removing some of its rebates and fuel subsidies gradually from cab drivers since 2008.

From the look of this action, taxi companies seemed more inclined to shift the ownership of their fleet back to the drivers themselves, as they could have chosen to lower the daily rental rate of taxis if they really wanted to help.

In times to come, we can anticipate an increase in price of the daily rental of taxis. Also, fuel costs and car maintenance costs will just continue to go up. Are you prepared to handle this uphill direction of costs?

4. Who Is Going To Help You When You Have Problems?

Our Singapore government decided to deregulate taxi fares in 1998, and most of the policies attached to taxi handling need not go through the Public Transport Council for approval.

This means that you are at the mercy of your taxi companies and they can change their policies, subsidies or payment plans whenever they like.

If you are a taxi driver in Singapore, you are considered a “self-employed” person with no benefits, no CPFs and no HR policies, but you are still required to comply with the mandatory training hours, daily rental fees and compulsory car maintenance set out by the taxi companies.

We have seen on television how the cabbies put up a strike in South Korea, but don’t expect it to happen in Singapore if you want to push your rights.

So, are you ready to be a taxi-driver?

If you already have a car and you're looking to make some extra cash as a driver, you might want to become an Uber driver instead. Before you take the plunge, take a look at the pros and cons of becoming a part-time Uber driver in Singapore.

What do you think? Share your comments with us below!

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