More buses please.

Could we have more buses in Singapore, please? My thinking is that if I put it as a polite request, it is more likely to be listened to, than if I put it as a criticism. However, I must explain why we need more buses in Singapore.

If you have ever taken a bus quite early, in the morning, in Singapore...say 7.15, up to town, you would have noticed an interesting phenomenon: it is possible to squeeze a surprising number of people on a bus, if you don't care how comfortable they are. This morning, I was on one such bus. I was travelling earlier than usual and was unable to find a seat. Indeed, I found myself standing, alongside what seemed like most of the other people on the bus. It was most uncomfortable. At one point, in fact, the doors of the bus were having trouble closing, because there were simply too many people squeezed on the bus. It was only possible to close the doors after a little more shuffling and greater squeezing of the people deep in the interior of the bus. After that, the bus was completely full. It wasn't a fun journey.

Now, the number of buses on a route is not an immutable number. If there were a willingness to improve the lot of commuters, more buses could be put on the route. I would think that at least 50% more buses are needed in peak hours, on many routes, to save most people from an uncomfortable journey. Perhaps on some routes a doubling of bus numbers would be necessary.

The word "bus" is usually accompanied by the word "service". Now, if it is truly intended to provide a bus service, then scheduling more buses would seem the obvious thing to do. I shouldn't even have to be writing about it. However, if the intention is to maximize profit at the expense of the comfort of the passengers then the present situation is what the operators will choose to create: deliberately schedule too few buses to maximize the revenue per bus, by maximizing the "human packing" per bus.

If nothing is done to increase the numbers of buses (and their frequency) on routes in the morning, one can assume that maximum profit of this supposedly public service, is the goal. If, however, I find myself able to get a seat at 7.15 in the morning, I will understand that service is truly the goal of the bus service.

I hope for change for the better.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

On being considerate on public transport.

Today, I journeyed on a bus. It seems a simple thing to do, but a lot of people conspired to make it a hellish trip.

I shall explain. Shortly after I boarded the bus, a group of school kids got on. They were secondary school children of about 16 years old. There were, I estimate, 25 to 30 of them. They crowded out the bus, standing in every nook and cranny and taking up every available seat.

Now, I have no issues with such groups of school children, usually, but, today, they did something en masse which I found quite insufferable: they spoke. Now, I am not about to speak out against Singlish again. The fact that many of them did use Singlish is not the matter I am concerned with. What bothered me was the volume with which they spoke. They competed with each other to speak above the volume of their fellow school children. Each child had to speak loud enough to drown out their competing neighbours, who, in turn, spoke louder so that they could be heard. What happened, almost immediately, was that they were all speaking as loudly as they were physically capable of doing.

The cacophony was deafening. I did the only thing I could: I put my fingers in my ears. Now, this achieved two things: it brought understanding, sympathetic smiles to the people opposite me, who had no trouble grasping what it was I was troubled by - and it lowered the volume just enough to be less than painful. What surprised me, however, was that, EVEN WITH MY FINGERS IN MY EARS, the bus load of jabbering school children was STILL too loud to be comfortable.

I kept my fingers in my ears throughout the journey and there was no respite from the deafening overlapping roar of voices around me, for, to my misfortune, the school party did not get off before me.

It struck me as strange that simply because a lot of 16 year olds were in one place together that they should think they have the right to become an unpleasant nuisance to everyone around them. No-one has taught them to consider their fellow human beings. A bus is a small space. It cannot take much noise before it becomes discomfiting. Adults don't talk much on buses. Adults sit in silence. I think teenagers should too. At least, they should not speak at a volume that they become unpleasant to everyone on the bus.

Schools play a part in this. They should teach their charges how to behave in public. Not becoming a cacophonous mass of teenagers is one thing that they should be taught to do. If they want to speak - then why not all choose to speak quietly to each other. Then, there would be no need to raise voices until all are shouting at maximum volume.

All the children were dressed from head to toe in light grey, should anyone be able to identify the school in question and communicate my observations to someone in a position to influence them.

I wasn't the only person who found them unpleasant. Many of the faces, nearby, showed as much discomfort as no doubt mine did. The only difference is, I put my fingers in my ears. Perhaps the others didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

I did note something about the teenagers' conversation: none of them within earshot (most of the bus) were saying anything that was worth saying in the first place. Their conversations may as well not have happened for all the purpose and content they imparted. I only wish they had realized that and didn't bother to speak in the first place.

I had a funny thought as I sat there. I wondered what they would think if I spoke up and told them to be quiet. No doubt they would think me most odd, for trying to shout above them, to get them to be quiet. Yet, strangely, none of them seemed to consider that they were all shouting in the first place - so why should my mooted request for them to be quiet be seen to be unusual? In the end, I said nothing, but just kept my fingers firmly in my ears.

There is no doubt that one's own car seems an attractive idea, at times like this. There is no way there is ever going to be thirty teenagers shouting at once in my car, that's for sure.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

A tale of two taxi drivers

Singapore's taxi drivers are famous for many things: for disappearing when you just need them, so that you will be forced to call them out; for taking circuitous routes whenever they think they can get away with it - and for simply not knowing where they are going in one of the world's geographically simplest cities.

I wish to add two more things they should be known for, so that those who come to take a cab, when they have to, might look out for them.

Today we had an early birthday party for Tiarnan. It was at Orchid Country Club. There was no other way to get there, except by cab - so we broke our "no cab" rule, and took a cab there and a cab back.

I found the behaviour of the drivers quite surprising, given the fact that fares have already risen excessively.

The outward bound cab: SHA 3666J, already had the metre running before we got in. It showed 3 dollars on the metre. It should have showed $2.80, so it had been running long enough to have rolled up already. It wasn't the quantum of the deceit that annoyed me, it was the fact he would try to do this, even though the fares have already risen dramatically. It was the principle that a price is a price, and nothing should be done to inflate it.

I confronted him as he got out to see to a problem with the boot.

"Why was the metre running before we got in?"

"Eh?"

"Why was the metre running before we got in?"

"Sorry, I no understand English."

"You understand metre:" his face registered the word, "why is the metre running?"

"OK, OK."

When we got in, he seemed to adjust the metre as if to restart it. He didn't seem to know how to use it and had great trouble adjusting it.

After he had finished fiddling with it, it still showed a sum above the starting fare. He hadn't changed it at all.

Communicating with him was such a struggle - and he was so clearly not going to be honest about it, that I gave up and resolved to complain later.

The driver on the way home tried another trick: one that was almost funny to watch, so farcical was it. His cab was SHA 4441J.

When we stopped at our house, he didn't stop the metre. He fiddled with the gear stick. He adjusted the steering. He looked at the metre. It still hadn't changed. So he fiddled with his ignition key. It still hadn't changed. So, then he looked out of the window, into the distance, as if struck by a great thought that needed attention. (No doubt it went a bit like this: "I must get that extra 20 cents.")

So, I told him: "Stop the metre."

He didn't. He just waited.

"Stop the metre."

He didn't. He just waited.

"Stop the metre...don't take six hours to do so, like all the other drivers!"

Finally, he reached out very slowly, to stop the metre. No doubt he hoped it would change before his finger touched the key.

He said nothing. He didn't acknowledge his intent. Except in his face: that seemed to say..."This passenger is cheating me out of my fair, traditionally entitled, overcharge!"

I haven't taken a cab in a very long time. In fact, it is at least a couple of weeks since I last took one. The new fares struck me as unfair, so I gave taxis up, as a bad habit. They are a bit like cigarettes - only they cause a cancer of the pocket.

Now that I have sampled the new service, I can say that the drivers are behaving even more dishonestly than before. They are not satisfied with fares that can mean a doubling of the charges. They have to try to squeeze more out of every passenger. Maybe this is because there are fewer passengers.

So, if you take a cab, check that the meter does not start until you actually board. Often the meter will already have been running for a while. When you get to your destination, note whether the driver has stopped the meter. Often they won't - they will distract you until the fare has suitably increased. Some of them never stop it all and will just bill you the highest amount it reaches before you manage to get out of the cab.

It seems as if taking cabs are now even more fun than they used to be. It is now a battle of the wits between driver and passenger: the driver trying every ruse he can to secure a higher fare, the passenger trying his or her best not to get ripped off. I suppose that is called public entertainment.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and six months, and Tiarnan, twenty-three months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

You'd think they would be satisfied with official robbery, without adding a little private robbery of their own.

The Voice of the People: Singapore

What do Singaporeans think about the recent huge increases in taxi fares? Well, today, I observed their reply.

We are approaching Xmas. It is prime shopping time for Singaporeans making those urgent gift purchases in the last few days. Many people will be laden with bags and, in need of a cab. But will they take one?

I haven't conducted a scientific survey, through numerical monitoring of taxis, but I have conducted an informal one. This afternoon I noted whether a cab was full or empty as it passed me - and the company from which it came. Chance being what it is, my sample is likely to be a typical one for a non-central area, for there is no reason why my sample should be in anyway special. I noticed something strange. About 80 % of Comfort Delgro taxis were empty. That's right, about 4 out of 5 passed me by empty of passengers.

What is even stranger is that the smaller taxi companies which are implementing their own fare changes in the near future, but have yet to do so, were mainly full. So, what do we have here: Comfort cabs empty, other cabs full. I think the people of Singapore, have spoken. By their choice have they made their view clear. Comfort cabs are being actively avoided by enough Singaporeans to create a noticeable difference in usage, in the afternoon, between Comfort, and their competitors.

There is only one problem with this: soon all firms will implement their own taxi fare rises.

The fact that so many Comfort taxis are empty, on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, is very telling. It also calls into question the taxi firm's strategy in the first place. You see, have you ever wondered why they chose to raise taxi fares by such a huge margin in the run-up to Christmas? Well, it is because they thought you would be busy shopping and visiting relatives and that you would have no choice but to pay up. Rather coldly, they calculated that, at this particular time of the year, Singaporeans had no choice but to cough up for the new charges. They probably reasoned that, by the time the festive season was over, everyone would be used to the new raft of charges and their level of custom would be back to normal. But that does not seem to be what is happening out on the street, if my observed sample is typical. What is happening is that Singaporeans are actively avoiding taxis. I don't think this comes from any concerted action. It arises from individual decisions based on affordabilty. Many Singaporeans cannot, now, afford taxis. They simply cannot pay that ten dollars extra (or whatever it is) for their particular journey - so they don't take them anymore. They are either reducing their travel to essentials only - or using alternatives such as the MRT (train network) or the buses - neither of which is particularly convenient for large areas of Singapore.

It is Christmas. It is the time of "good cheer". Yet, it is also the first time that many Singaporeans can no longer afford the convenience of a taxi. This conclusion is easily reached. You just have to observe the traffic flow and note how many more empty taxis there are, than usual - at this busiest of all times of year.

If this situation persists and Singaporeans continue to refuse to take taxis it may come to pass that taxi fares are quietly lowered again. Then all can go back to normal - and people can start travelling conveniently again. However, if Singaporeans put up with the new fares, and go back to the cabs, then the high prices will be here to stay - until the next round of taxi fare hikes, of course.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The Great ComfortDelGro Taxi Rip-off

Singaporeans, although they don't necessarily know it, already receive one of the worst taxi services in the world. Taxi drivers use every ploy in the book and some that aren't (ie. read "unethical") to increase their income at the expense of the Singaporean public. Yet, the situation is just about to get a lot worse.

ComfortDelGro, the largest taxi fleet in Singapore, comprising Comfort, CityCab and Yellow-top taxis, making up fully 65 per cent of all Singaporean taxis, with 15,000 of Singapore's 23,000 cabs, is going to DOUBLE taxi fares from Monday.

There have been hints, in recent days, of a "30 cent rise" in flag down rate. The fact that they would dribble out the news with that parsimonious description of the true state of affairs, is rather insulting to Singaporeans who may, now, be unable to afford a cab at all.

The flag down rate is indeed rising from $2.50 to $2.80. More significant, however, is that the rate of charge, for time and distance is DOUBLING to 20 cents per unit, from the present 10 cents. This means that taxis will now cost twice as much as before, on a per distance, per time basis. Yet, that is just the beginning of the price rises.

During the peak period - when people are most likely to be travelling, which is Monday to Friday, 7 am to 9.30 am and Monday to Saturday, 5 pm to 8 pm, there will be a 35% premium charge on the metered fare. Currently, the peak surcharge is a flat $2 no matter what the distance or time of journey.

The City Area Surcharge, for pick ups in the City area will TRIPLE to $3 and will be payable for a greater part of the day (Monday to Saturday, 5pm to Midnight). Currently, it is $1 payable Monday to Thursday, 5pm to 8 pm and Friday to Saturday, 5 pm to 11.30 pm.

The late night surcharge will be 50% of the metered fare, added on, from midnight to 5.59 am. Currently, there are staggered rates from 11.30 pm to 5.59 am.

The only improvement, from the point of view of the passenger, is that booking fees will be reduced to $3.50 prime time, Monday to Friday, 7 am to 9.30 am and 5pm to 11 pm. Currently they are $4. Off peak booking fees will remain at $2.50.

So what do all these changes mean to how much it will now cost to take a cab in Singapore?

Well, let us do an analysis.

For someone taking a cab home after work, at say, 7 pm, from the City area, for a journey which presently costs, say $12, what will the new cost be? Well, under the old regime, the flag down portion of that $12 is $2.50. The City Surcharge is $1. The peak charge is $2. The rest, $7.50 is the metered portion based on time and distance.

Under the new regime, the flag down would be $2.80. The metered portion would be charged at DOUBLE the rate, making it 2 times $7.50 = $15. The City area surcharge would be $3. This makes a total of $20.80. On top of this there will be a 35% peak period premium, giving a total for the fare of an astonishing $28.08!

They spoke of a "30 cents rise"...but what actually are ComfortDelGro doing? New prices on a typical sample journey are 234 % of present prices. This now makes taxi taking an unaffordable service for most Singaporeans. Almost no-one is going to agree to pay almost 30 dollars for a journey that until now has been 12 dollars, or so, on a regular basis. That is just for short trips. Long trips such as runs to the airport will now cost perhaps 50 or 60 dollars, compared to just over 20 dollars, presently, for many Singaporeans.

Singaporeans are being cheated on every front by the public taxi service. They are driven by poorly trained, ignorant, dishonest drivers who don't know where they are going and try to cheat the passenger every way they can - and now they will be gouged, by truly ugly fares everytime they board a cab.

It is, I feel, a time for Singaporeans to show what they think of these new fare rises: by never taking a cab from ComfortDelGro again. Should other cab services raise their fares in a similar way, they too can be avoided. If no-one agrees to these fares by taking cabs anymore, then they will have to reduce the fares to what they were before - or something similar.

Why is ComfortDelGro doing this? Well, it says it is an answer to the problem of unavailability of cabs, when people need them. I find that ludicrous. Why were cabs unavailable? Because the cab drivers were acting in unison, to cheat the customers, by "hiding" and refusing to pick up passengers unless they called them out, and paid call out charges. The drivers were only unavailable because they were busy cheating the consumer. Now, ComfortDelGro has had the inspired idea of rewarding these dishonest drivers by making the practice of gouging the customer official and ensuring that ALL taxi journeys are a complete rip-off. Thirty dollars for a modest trip out of town, for a country in which salaries are modest by Western standards (really, really modest, if the truth be known, for most Singaporeans), is far, far too much. Taxis, henceforth, will be for tourists only - who really don't have a choice and don't know any better.

The real answer to the issue of vanishing taxis and the inability to get one unless a call-out is made is much simpler than across the board, greedy fare rises. The real answer is to penalize any driver who behaved like that. There should have been high fines and perhaps custodial sentences for repeat offenders. That is what works in Singapore to bring behaviour into line - and that is what should have been done for taxi drivers. Their behaviour should have been made illegal, with stiff penalties.

Another alternative would have been to abolish the call-out charge altogether - and made it illegal not to take a call-out booking. That would have worked equally well.

In Singapore, taxi drivers will never do the right thing, in terms of service. They will always do what makes them the most money, even if that action is a dishonest one - or an illegal one (if no-one is looking). The notion of giving good customer service has not entered the consciousness of this particular workforce - nor, it seems, has it entered the minds of the ComfortDelGro executives who have just decided to multiply the price of a typical taxi journey by 2 and a third times.

Decisions like ComfortDelGro's affect the quality of life of everyone who lives and works in Singapore. Such decisions should be made with much more care. They say they are looking after the interests and livelihoods of taxi drivers. Well, what about everyone else's interests and livelihoods? My experiences with Singaporean taxi drivers have been very mixed. Some of the poorer experiences have led me to the opinion that drivers do not deserve special consideration. Many of them have behaved extremely dishonestly towards me. They need to be regulated - not rewarded with higher fares.

From Monday, the viable transport options of millions of Singaporeans will be reduced by one modality. For from Monday, millions of Singaoreans will no longer be able to afford one of the most convenient forms of transport previously available: the taxi cab.

The only hopeful possibility is if people stop taking cabs. If no-one takes cabs anymore, then prices will have to return to previous levels. I, for one, will do my utmost to find any other mode of transport than a taxi cab, in future. Quite frankly, with the levels of DISservice, presently common, and the new price rises - they don't deserve my custom - or yours, for that matter.

Note: Source of data on the new taxi fare structure: today's Today newspaper, page 3.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Are Singaporean taxi drivers trained?

Singaporean taxi drivers often strike me as among the least knowledgeable of their breed. Indeed, Singapore is the only country I have ever visited, in which the taxi drivers quite often don't know where they are going. It seems needless to add, but add I must, that Singapore is such a small country, that it is, in fact, a modest sized city, and that to not know where you are going, within it, as a professional driver, is quite some feat.

It is apt that I should comment at this time, for the largest taxi fleet is set to raise the flagdown rate of its taxis by a rumoured 30 cents and has hinted at other ways to raise revenue (read: increase pricing), as well. This comes upon the huge rise in call-out charges some months back.

The big question is, of course: are these price rises justified when service is so poor?

Before any prices rise, the taxi fleets need to address the issue of driver competence. Singaporean drivers are often a poorly informed and not particularly honest bunch. They don't know where they are going - or if they do, they deliberately take very circuitous routes. They do anything they can to inflate the fare and cheat the passenger - particularly if, like me, that passenger is a foreigner. I have seen all sorts of ploys - all of them calculated to deprive me of rather more dollars than is justified by the journey embarked upon. Some drivers have even driven off with the passengers' belongings. (Some 20,000 dollars worth of wedding gifts, for instance, in a famous recent case.) So, all in all, a Singaporean taxi is something to be wary of, for one reason or another.

A recent journey brought me to ask the title question. We booked a taxi (and paid the exorbitant surcharges), since we were going to a wedding. Rather than give him our precise location, we told him to drive to somewhere obvious, nearby.

"Jurong Junior College.", we requested, as we got into the cab.

"Where? I don't know.", he replied.

Ah, I thought, he doesn't know where the Junior College is.

"You show me.", he continued, pointing ahead at the mystery of the roads, on which he drove daily.

So, we were to show a professional driver, in a very small city, where to go...

We got to the first meeting of roads and he slowed. "Which way?" he asked, without embarrassment.

It was clear, then, that it was not the Junior College that he didn't know the way to. He didn't know the way to Jurong. That flabbergasted me - for it meant he didn't know the city at all.

As the journey proceeded, this man, who had the nerve to call himself a taxi driver, would ask us for instructions at every single meeting of roads, junction or turning, all along the way. He quite simply knew nothing at all of the geography of Singapore.

Finally, as we neared our destination, my wife said: "Just turn left at Jurong JC."

"JC? I don't know what JC is." he said, in utter mystification.

My wife and I looked at each other. There is something you should know at this point. Only Singaporeans are allowed to drive Singaporean taxis. That means that all were born here, educated here and grew up here. As you have no doubt noticed, JC is the abbreviation for Junior College (which we first asked him for). So, even if he had been a foreigner - which he couldn't possibly be - he should have known what JC was. Yet, he was a native. He had been through the school system - yet he had managed to do so, without knowing the names of the schools.

I grew really uncomfortable then. Was our driver senile? He didn't look old enough to be, being in his fifties at my best guess. Or was he just lying about his lack of knowledge? Was his "I don't know where I am going", just a ruse to ensure that, on average, he always travelled a longer route than otherwise, because his passengers would tend not to have the best route knowledge?

In a way, I rather hoped it was a ruse - for I find it incredible that someone of so little mental competence, as not even to know the most basic things about the society he grew up in - not its geography and not the names of its institutions - could actually be allowed behind the wheel of a taxi.

Was he truly that mentally incompetent? If so, he shouldn't be driving - and a system that can allow such a driver on the road, is seriously flawed. Clearly, there is no real training of these drivers. It is not infrequent to step into a cab driven by someone who hasn't got a clue where he is going. That should never happen. No-one should be allowed to drive until they know their way around.

In London, where I grew up, the cab drivers prided themselves on The Knowledge - an examination in the routing between all destinations in London. All cab drivers had to pass this test. As a result, I never had the experience, in London, of being driven by a taxi driver who didn't know where he was going. Yet, in Singapore, I have that experience several times a week. Singaporean drivers simply don't know Singapore. Furthermore, those that do, often use that knowledge of best routes, to avoid them and give the passenger the longest, most expensive route possible (at least they do to me, a Caucasian). It is truly a disgrace to the nation. Yet, instead of addressing the issue of useless, incompetent and dishonest drivers - what are the authorities going to do? They are going to raise the price of taxis again. That is the second time in a year.

Before they raise prices, they should first take off the roads all the dishonest drivers - and all the incompetent drivers. All new drivers should be exhaustively trained in the ways and byways of Singapore. Then, and only then, should they even begin to consider raising the price. They should remember that it is called a taxi SERVICE - and attend to the service part, first.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

The Amazing Super Moths of Singapore.

This morning, my wife and I took a taxi together.

The first thing we did on entering was to open the windows - on both sides. Why, you might wonder? Well, there was this overpowering smell...no... stench is a better word - of napthalene - otherwise known as moth balls. There wasn't just a hint of moth ball in there - it was as if the whole car had been made of the stuff.

Curiously, the taxi driver was oblivious to the chemical aroma in his cab. He stared straight ahead while we reached for the windows, and virtually wretched as we did so. Indeed by the end of the journey, despite the windows being open, Syahidah was complaining of feeling unwell, owing to the smell.

Now, many a driver is proud of his car and wishes to preserve it from harm. So you might feel that while you may not agree with the extent of his moth protection, you might agree with his intent and understand his concern.

That's all very well - there is just one odd thing about all this. The entire interior of his car was plastic. There was nothing there for a moth to eat.

So, the first thing I observed on entering the taxi, was the appalling smell of moth balls. The second thing I noticed was that there was nothing for the moths to eat - inside the plastic cab interior.

Thus, the third thought I had was that our driver couldn't be completely alright in the head. Eccentricities come in various shapes and sizes - but I had never seen anyone prepare so fully for the eventuality that his car might suddenly change into something edible for moths (well, moth larvae, anyway) - and then get eaten.

That is one taxi journey neither of us shall ever forget.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

SMRT an unfair taxi fare

This is a post for Singaporeans or those who are to visit Singapore.

Like many who live in Singapore, I not infrequently take a taxi. They are often more convenient than other forms of transport and, because they don't stop at regular intervals throughout a journey, like buses or trains (the MRT), they tend to be quicker. Yet, sometimes they don't seem so good.

A few days ago, I booked a cab. My wife made the call and, seeing that there was just no way on Earth that the cab would arrive before 9.30 am, we thought that we would avoid the penal surcharges that are levied for a booking before 9.30 am. For those who are unaware, the standard starting rate for a taxi in Singapore is $2.50. However, if you book a taxi in the morning, there will be surcharges amounting to another $6.00 making the starting rate $8.50. This comprises a "peak rate" of $2 and a booking fee of $4.00. So, it is more than three times more expensive to take a taxi before 9.30 am, if you book, than if you wait until after 9.30 and don't book. At least the starting rate is that much more expensive.

We got into the cab at 9.39 am - well after the watershed of 9.30 am - and journeyed to our destination. I was rather surprised then, when we arrived, to see the "booking fee" of $4.00 added to my bill.

"Why are you charging me this when your cab didn't arrive until 9.39 am?" I read this time from the receipt.

"Ah, that one is the taxi company: they charge you from the time you book."

He pointed at the time on the booking record: 9.27 am.

Great. So, because my wife picked the phone up at 9.27 am we were charged as if we were travelling at that time.

So, in Singapore it is not the time you travel that determines the charges - it is the time you decide to travel that really counts!

Unless it doesn't bother you to be charged three times as much for the same journey, I would suggest waiting until after 9.30 am to make that call - unless you cannot help it. (Though there is a surcharge for calling after that time, too - though less).

I tried to point out the illogicality of charging a customer a rate for a time not travelled at to "customer service" - but they weren't having anything of it. He mumbled about having to charge that rate "otherwise we have no business...ah".

It is funny really - but the customer service rep justified the charge - and its timing - by saying that his company needed to make money out of the customers. He seemed to be supporting the idea that a company should do what it can to exploit its customers if it gets the chance. I nearly laughed - but instead I put the phone down. It was much more satisfying.

Now, I don't normally complain about poor service or exploitation of the customer, here, simply because there is just so much of it. So I generally "suffer in silence" - it is just that that morning I was so surprised to be charged a surcharge for a time I hadn't actually travelled, that I actually picked up the phone and complained: not, of course, that it did any good.

Yet, it was interesting to learn that, here at least, poor behaviour on the part of a company, is justifiable by its employees because of the desire to make as much money from the customer as possible. I wonder how many other companies around the world, providing a public service, like transportation, would publicly espouse that view?

I had this experience with an SMRT taxi. I don't know if the ruling applies to bookings with Comfort or Citicab or Premiere or any of the smaller firms - but I would not be surprised, since they don't really compete with each other, but tend to move in unison, in the market.

The conclusion from this is that you should not book a taxi in Singapore during the peak period - if you want to travel later than that period - because you will be treated as a peak period traveller, from the point of view of the booking surcharges, no matter what time you subsequently travel.

Happy journeying, all.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)