the tough and at times misunderstood vocation in Singapore

• FireIce

  5 May 16, 00:02

  After Dark - Taxi Driver

   

  Brought to you by the Galaxy S7 4G+ and S7 edge 4G+. Rethink what a phone can do.
  

   

  You have a better chance at striking the lottery than finding someone who drives a cab for the passion. Least of all the graveyard shift when the world is asleep and you feel a sense of loneliness creeping up on you.

  So what drives 33-year-old Timothy Lim to take up the mantle of the job that sees him being cooped up in a car for hours?

  He sums it up in one word - family. “Being a taxi driver does give me the flexibility of spending time with my family,” said Timothy. For the last two years since he left the comforts of the office as a salesman to sitting behind the steering wheel, the thought of seeing his daughter and wife once his shift ends has kept him going.

  On the streets of Singapore

  Timothy’s typical day (or night, really) starts during the evening peak period, spending a few brief moments with his wife and daughter before he sets off. Making random journeys, however, isn’t his strategy. Starting in the west side of Singapore where he stays, he is always on the lookout for a booking to Changi Airport, bringing him to the opposite end.

  But unlike the legends of taxi drivers who talk non-stop, Timothy is on the other end of the spectrum, lending a listening ear to those who board his cab. “You get to meet a lot of people and they share their life and work, so it’s kind of interesting,” he said.

  80% of taxi drivers in Singapore are at the age of 50 and above, putting Timothy in a relatively young group cabbies here. That youthful disposition is relatable to most of his young passengers, with some becoming regular customers. With them, Timothy is just a call away, picking them up and even knowing where they’re headed before they’ve even told him.

   

  image: http://images.cdn.stuff.tv/sites/stuff.tv/files/styles/wow-quote/public/after-dark-taxi-03.jpg?itok=0V1vVCa1×tamp=1460021706

  

  You get to meet a lot of people and they share their life and work

  Earning a living ain't easy

  Being diligent keeps the fares coming for Timothy. But that doesn’t equate to a stable daily income, especially during the holidays when there are less flagdowns and bookings.

  Keeping a tight watch on his budget is important, and it doesn’t help when his phone, which is essential to the job, conks out. Timothy recounts the dilemma he faced when his phone’s screen cracked, with repairs amounting to at least S$200. Not exactly the kind of money he has lying around, nor exactly the most legit reason to justify buying a new smartphone. “If the repair cost for a phone is lower and affordable, I won’t hesitate to make the replacement,” he laments.

  The solution for this is quite straightforward with Samsung Concierge. The one-time fee of S$38 also covers a 50% discount for screen repairs. A great benefit, not just for Timothy, but also others who face the dilemma of either repairing or replacing their damaged phones.

  image: http://images.cdn.stuff.tv/sites/stuff.tv/files/styles/wow-quote/public/after-dark-taxi-food.jpg?itok=7xQnjZFS×tamp=1460022325

  

  Some of the customers have great taste in food and they’ll bring you around

  Being affable and good-natured is also the key to maintaining his passenger network, with some even becoming fast friends and offering great food tips. “Some of the customers have great taste in food and they’ll bring you around,” he said.

  Then, there’s the older and more experienced passengers giving sagely advice to the young cabby. "They remind me to have work-life balance and spend more time with his family," said Timothy. The very reasons that spur him on during the long hours when his shift continues into the wee hours of the morning.

  image: http://images.cdn.stuff.tv/sites/stuff.tv/files/styles/wow-main/public/after-dark-taxi-04.jpg?itok=3WQSiuN0×tamp=1460022089

  

  A different side of Singapore

  The night might be quiet, but it's anything but boring. Like all taxi drivers, Timothy has his fair share of passenger stories. Passengers who were the pioneer batch of National Service enlistees reminisce the tough times they had. Some engage him in politics talk, which usually has mentions of Singapore’s founding father, the late Lee Kuan Yew.

  He’s also seen the seedier side of Singapore, remembering the occasional passenger drop-offs right outside a hotel at Singapore’s infamous Geylang area. But top on the list that scares him most is picking up drunk passengers who spill their guts (literally and figuratively). The fear of runners who ride and dash or cleaning up after a drunk passenger vomits in the car is very real.

  His experience with the latter is very common as he recounts one intoxicated customer who just knelt in the car during the whole ride. It wasn’t easy either as all he got was a street name and no idea where he has to drop off the passenger.

  “I had a hard time waking him up, and when I did, he just walked out and almost forgot to take his phone,” said Timothy. He counts himself lucky that the passenger didn’t throw up and managed to pay, though it was just a couple of dollars short.

  image: http://images.cdn.stuff.tv/sites/stuff.tv/files/styles/wow-main/public/after-dark-taxi-low-light.jpg?itok=3YcbCcD2×tamp=1460020778

  

  Seeing Singapore in another (low) light

  The long nights make for monotonous driving. A challenge for Timothy, or for that matter, any taxi driver, is to stay awake. He takes heed to well-meaning advice from veteran taxi drivers and older passengers, both reminding him to avoid being cooped up in the car.

  Even the few minutes out of the vehicle and stretching his legs are a welcome respite from a long night of driving. For Timothy, this gives him the opportunity to step out and take in the late night sights of Singapore. “During the wee hours, there’s less traffic and that’s when you see the landscape of Singapore,” he said.

  Committing them to memory is one thing, but he believes a phone with a decent low light camera would do even better. One that captures even the faintest speck of light with a bright aperture and fast Auto Focus even in the darkest situations.

  Timothy might have been late to the party, but at least he got a glimpse into better low light photography when he took the Samsung Galaxy S7 4G+ out for a test drive. And was duly impressed with the capabilities of its Dual Pixel Sensor (Fast Auto Focus) and bright f1.7 lenses.

  image: http://images.cdn.stuff.tv/sites/stuff.tv/files/styles/wow-main/public/after-dark-taxi-music.jpg?itok=D-ZUyCkr×tamp=1460020858

  

  Keeping the night alive with music

  In his past (work) life, Timothy had a close affinity with smartphones. That has not changed even with the job switch, and he often has to resist the lure of changing a new smartphone for practical reasons.

  Yet, when he does make the upgrade, it’s for one that has a microSD card slot, for one simple reason - his photos and music.

  “I don’t backup my phone to the PC as often, so when I change my phone, I just take out my SD card and bring it to the next one,” he said. This makes sense for anyone who’s ever had their whole life stored on the memory card. For Timothy, this is especially important to keep his car tunes intact. A mix of Chinese, English and fast-paced music accompany him when he drives down the quiet roads.

  A slight look of surprise crossed Timothy’s face when we handed him the Samsung Galaxy S7 4G+ and showed him how the Dual SIM* card slot also doubles as a container for a microSD card. We have a slight suspicion that he’s thinking of getting a 200GB microSD card to go with the phone.

  *Only one SIM supports 4G+ LTE Cat 9 (up to 450Mbps) connectivity at any one time.

  image: http://images.cdn.stuff.tv/sites/stuff.tv/files/styles/wow-main/public/after-dark-taxi-02.jpg?itok=7HEnVpSS×tamp=1460022352

  

  Homeward bound

  After a night of ferrying passengers, the end of Timothy’s night shift doesn’t signal the end of his day.

  While we open our eyes and move along with our daily lives, Timothy makes one final journey for the day. Picking up his daughter, he spends a precious, intimate father-daughter moment as he sends her to school. The final stretch ends with him dropping his wife off, grabbing a quick breakfast before he recharges himself for the next shift.

  As another evening begins, he picks up the family, sometimes for an early dinner before he sets off for work. That’s the typical day for the father and husband, who sits in his trusty Hyundai Sonata as he starts on his next journey.

  
  full story

• getcarter

  5 May 16, 05:34

  33yrs old drive taxi?

  Think tis fella CMI type lol

  Tok as though driving taxi is easy.....haizzz

• Pandanchen

  5 May 16, 06:10

  thanks for sharing 

• Jason65

  5 May 16, 06:48

  Realy got more time fpor family? Other people work 5 days a week and 9 hours a day. TD work 28 days a month and 12 hours. Go figure if tis is real or not. Maybe he only drive alternate days.

• bowah

  5 May 16, 09:23

  Gimmick lah, want TDs to buy S7 and paid those high bills only lah..knncccb 33yo drive smlj taxis??? 33yo should have tertiary education and start as junior banker or teacher or engineer...CB galaxy wants to con taxi driver sibo?? Smlj sent child, wife...knn, drive taxi where got so much time to send this and that...tire like fuck liao, sometime, my lau charbo ask me to fetch her at Chinatown, limpek ask her to take cab, I paid for her fare...drive taxi 12shift better dun get distracted by having to pick up family member here and there, unless got urgent matter.
• bowah

  5 May 16, 09:26

  If this is true, let see 10 years later, see if this goondo 33yo still talks the same language and sing the same tune as now...I think most properly he will said..."Please if possible, dun drive taxi at a young age"
• ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~

  5 May 16, 10:18

  This one is sibei handphone samsung gimmick...

  Keeping a tight watch on his budget is important, and it doesn’t help when his phone, which is essential to the job, conks out. Timothy recounts the dilemma he faced when his phone’s screen cracked, with repairs amounting to at least S$200. Not exactly the kind of money he has lying around, nor exactly the most legit reason to justify buying a new smartphone. “If the repair cost for a phone is lower and affordable, I won’t hesitate to make the replacement,” he laments.

  Ehhh...? Low cashflow, but then if the repair cost is cheaper than replacing, he rather replace his phone? Writer sleepy liao ah???

   

  And also low spending power and budget, but got S7????

  ?????

  And why talk abt microSD card??? apart from iphones, most other phone all support microSD since ages ago liao~

   

• FireIce

  5 May 16, 10:35

  the replacement refers to replacing the part tts damaged/spoiled

   

  not buy a new fone

   

   

  u then sleepy

• mAdCaB

  5 May 16, 13:21

  30+ drive taxi? If part time still okay. Full time and he would have wasted his youth + future. Time for family my foot! Driving a taxi is 1 of the most time consuming job in the world. The car dont move, you get no money. Job requires full concentration. Working in an office you still can slack and surf Internet.

• bowah

  5 May 16, 13:32

  This type of advertisement, who called and allow it into this forum..you know I know lah, tia kong nowadays Moderators times are quite bad, simlj pattern will also come out to bluff people, but of all people, want to cheat TDs again...mai lah, we are consider lower income group hor, want to cheat and con, also go find richer one lah, like those living in cove, silversea, bayshore ah nehs, or Melvin park tamil nadu condo lah..
• eyeopening

  5 May 16, 23:48

  the written and publisher write this article

  they collect money from samsung

• fifufu

  6 May 16, 01:04

  Jin paisei..I also 30+ drv teksi...

• bowah

  6 May 16, 13:27

  huang taxi, bo chen tor ar Drive taxi, no future ar. You no need to go far to understand it, we today here are the sole examples of being a taxi driver for many years since our 30s, and what do we get, nothing, still hve to pend steering, still hv to step pedals, still hide our sorrow behind our smiling, still hv to entertain the shit of public character and attitude, most of us from Yandao..drive until worst than lau kau..haiz, and still got some die hard driving one said, we cannot let go of taxi driving...wee.