I read an article in The New Paper, which made the cover story yesterday. It was about a couple whom had boarded the cab and was on the way home for the guy to send off her girlfriend home in Bukit Batok, when suddenly without any warning, the cab’s door opened automatically and he got flung out of the moving cab onto the middle of the road.
It was not about the accident which had happened to the guy but apparently the main storyline was about how irresponsible the cab driver was by not stopping his cab to help the victim, it was only after the victim’s girlfriend panicked and alerted the driver that he stopped his cab some 20 metres away. The victim’s girlfriend rushed over to help him up and before the both of them could react, the cab moved off, cutting across 3 lanes before going out of sight after turning into a slip road.
Reading that article, I felt utterly disgusted. So ok, be it that it was also the victim’s fault for not wearing the passenger’s seatbelt, but for the cab driver to potray that kind of very irresponsible attitude, I personally think that our country’s service standards of a world class transport system is still far from being the BEST.
I have my very own unpleasant experience too recently with a similar kind of very bad attitude by a taxi driver that even now as I’m blogging this, I really felt like strangling the cab driver hard and kicked his ass off.
Just last Saturday, I had to buy some urgent things from a pharmacy for my grandma. It was already around 9.40p.m and mostly most pharmacies have closed down by then. the only idea I had in my mind was to get my way down to Mustaffa Centre to get the stuffs. When all the shopping was done, I had 2 big heavy plastic bags to get home with. I’d decided to hail down a cab to send the stuffs as my Mum needed it urgently. That’s when I’d also decided to wait for a cab at the back entrance of the shopping centre near the small road facing the prata makan place. I’d seen quite number of cabs which either have its windscreen displayed that it was “On Call”, “Woodlands”, “Tampines” signs, and so I didn’t bother myself to hail down those taxis. And then I saw this “Union” taxi which showed the illuminated green sign indicating that the taxi’s not having any passengers, and so I hailed it down. The driver stopped abruptly, rolled down his windscreen and when I’d told him that I wanted to get to Eunos, he replied back in a harsh tone and waving his hand disapprovingly saying that he only ferries passengers going to Woodlands and without even futher waiting, the driver just drove off. Okie fine, that was it, i’m not going top wait for a taxi at this place, my mind told me. I then headed off to the main road and then I saw a taxi stand. Phew! I’m safe! Well at least that’s what I’d thought before the hell happened. The taxi stand was even worst! The crowd was growing but the number of taxis coming in to take passengers was almost none! Ok..Ok there was only around 2 that took up passengers from the taxi stand. This is surely NUTS man!
I’d waited close to about half and hour and then I gave up and decided to just dial-a-cab. i was about to walk to the side of the road and I’d noticed a line of about unoccupied taxis by the side of the road. I’d hurried to the 1st taxi, a yellow cab with a driver in his late 30’s. The taxi had his green light illuminating and I didnt see any other signs (“On Call”, “Woodlands”, “Tampines” whatever crap signs they can ever think of), and i could see the driver was ready to accept passengers. I was WRONG. I went up close to his driver’s windscreen and waved at him but he just kept mummed without even looking at me! I then knocked lightly on his windscreen and only that he rolled down his windscreen. I then told him that I wanted to get to Eunos and the next thing which happened stunned me almost at an instant.
“Haiyah!!! I don’t go Eunos arr. I only take passengers to CITY !” he replied in a harshly high toned manner.
I was not satisfied and then I’d asked him back in a calm but firm manner… “Hello Uncle, but I don’t see any signs saying that you’re going to the CITY except for the “green light” (*pointing my hand to the top of his taxi) and there’s not even an “On Call” sign.
At this point the driver heaved a huge deep rude sigh as he bent down to his legs to get hold of the “On Call” sign he kept below his legs. Truthfully, i was already raging with madness when he showed that “On Call” sign to my face. So the driver thought that I was some small intimidated passenger girl that he could easily fool with and to top that I was only alone at that moment of time.
The next moment I was having a heated argument with the driver and the corner of my eyes says that all the Banglas and the Indians nearby are all looking at us. The driver still refused to take me to my Eunos home. Some vulgarities were even exchanged. The taxi driver thought that i could’nt understand the Chinese vulgarities he uttered but I was fast catching him and I’d warned him that this is not the way to treat a customer.
I’d then purposely stood in front of his taxi, took out my hp to take down and store the taxi plate number. The taxi driver was still inside and continued to hurl abusive languages and hand signs. I’d then stomped out of the way and i shouted back at him.. “You’re asking for it!!”
I’d walked away and that’s when I saw the other taxi driver earlier whom’d told me he only ferries passengers to Woodlands, and I saw him showing his fingers the number “3″ and his voice blurted out a not so loud but clear “30 dollars!” to an elderly Indian couple, whom I believed were tourists who wants to get back to their hotels after their shopping at Mustaffa’s. Now I got the picture…those taxi’s by the side of that road were actually “touting”. The driver didn’t see me but I’d managed to take down the taxi license plate number as well.
In fact I was so utterly disgusted by their behaviour, made myself clear by reporting about that incident to the relevant authorities the very next day. My complains were still pending investigations. I really hoped that those 2 bastards get fined up and have their taxi licenses revoked. Complete assholes.
Our public transportation fares will continue to hike up in the near future and if this is the kind of service and attitudes we are still getting, I believe our country will never get even close to the top 10 ranking of of excellent customer service.
Especially if we let those kind of bastards roamed our roads around freely, having their own selfish interests, They will put up Singapore with a very bad image.
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