TAXI!!!!!

With so many people living on such a small island transportation is a topic of conversation in Singapore.  In my opinion it is really easy to get around in this city, there are buses, subway lines and taxis galore.

Taxis come in all sorts of styles and some are better than others as far as quality of the car goes.  Every taxi is safe and every taxi has a meter so you know how much you have to pay.

  Some taxi drivers own their cars some drive for other owners but they all go through the official Singapore taxi companys so you can be assured that there are regulations and oversight for your driver.  You can also be assured that a taxi is available 24 hours a day every day of the year.

When you want a taxi you usally can just go along the side of the road and wait for one to come twards you that has a green TAXI light on then simply put your arm striaght out and they will stop.

 If there is not a green TAXI light on then the cab is busy or is on call for someone else.

 It is possible to call and book a cab to come and get just you, then the cab may say "ON CALL"  if someone is in the cab already it will say "HIRED" they also can say "BUSY" and I am not really sure what that means but it does mean they will not stop for you, Caleb thinks it means that they are on a break.

Also there are taxi stands all over the place,

at a taxi stand,  you just wait in line and get the next cab that comes and they come and come and come, it is really amazing how many taxis there are on the road. Look at this line of cabs waiting to get you from the taxi stand.

We have only had a problem getting a taxi when it is raining out.  During a down pour it is nicer to take a taxi and get door to door service than it is to take a bus and walk for blocks and blocks.  I noticed a trend in not finding a taxi in the rain so I asked one of our drivers why that is.  He said that when it rains customers dissappear to get out of the rain, they are not standing on the side of the road waiting for him, also the chance of an accident increases in the rain and the taxi drivers are responsible for their cars.  According to my driver when it rains out he and many other taxi drivers come off the road and go to the coffee shops to have some coffee and wait out the rain.  While I see his point it has left us in a delima before.


We are learning that around 4 pm is not a good time to try and get a taxi because it is shift change so unless you are going where they need to change drivers they will not pick you up.

Also there are times when you will wait long for a taxi to come along, one day I was late for a doctors appointment and the cab that came along was like this

yes, a Mercedes, well I took it because I needed to get to my appointment, wow it was nice, they had cold water for me, nice music the airconditioning was perfect the driver opened the door.   I was thinking oh my goodness how much am I going to have to pay for this ride, much to my surprise it was only $3.00 more than other taxi rides we have had, not bad.

The boys and I have decided that IF this cab ever comes along we will definitely take it!!