LATELY many readers have written to the forum pages complaining about taxi drivers. The complaints range from taxi surcharges and shortage of taxis to the behaviour of taxi drivers. I am prompted to write in to explain.

I became a taxi driver because I could not find a job due to my age (50). Taxi drivers are busy trying to earn a living, and hence have no time to write in to refute accusations against me and my colleagues.

Taxi driving is not a glamorous career in Singapore and not an appreciated profession either. We have to endure scolding from unreasonable passengers even though we are not at fault. We run the risk of picking up robbers and passengers who run away without paying. We also encounter rude private car owners competing with us on the roads. I admit we do have inconsiderate taxi drivers who annoy passengers and private car owners but the majority of us are helpful and courteous cabbies.

Let me list down the problems we cabbies face every day on the road.

1. Passengers who can't tell between right and left. There were a few occasions when I almost got into an accident at a traffic junction because the passenger was telling me to turn left but her hand was pointing to the right.

2. Passengers telling me I should know better when I politely ask her which way she prefers.

3. Couples who quarrel, shout and scream in my taxi.

4. Passengers who eat and drink in my taxi and mess up my vehicle.

5. Passengers who do not have money to pay for the fare, telling us to wait at the car park while he goes up to his flat to get money but does not show up after a long wait.

6. Passengers who give a $50 note when the fare is only $3-$4 and do not even apologise. We do have some small notes but this will run out if too many passengers pay with big notes.

7. Drunken passengers who vomit in our taxis.

8. Passengers who hurl vulgarity at us.

9. Front passengers who refuse to put on the safety belt when told to do so.

10. Passengers who only know the name of a particular restaurant but do not have the full address and expect us to drive them there.

The list goes on and on.

Lately, there are many complaints about taxi drivers, especially in the papers.

Like these:

1. When a person can't get a taxi, especially when he is in the CBD area or it's raining, cabbies must be hiding and waiting for bookings.

2. Why so many charges, for example, city surcharge, ERP, public holiday charge, airport charge, booking charge, etc? Ask the Government.

Taxi drivers in Singapore are a much criticised lot, second only to the Government. People criticise the Government in coffee shops but taxi drivers are being criticised in the papers too.

Are Singapore taxi drivers the most hardworking in the world? I sometimes think so. On average, we (day-shift and night-shift drivers combined) clock 600-800km per day per taxi.

Do you know how far 600km is? It is about the distance by road from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and back again.

Our monthly rental, including fuel, is about $5,200 a month. Our flag-down fare starts from $2.50. How many trips do we have to make to pay for the rental, the fuel and still make money to feed our families?

In conclusion, taxi drivers provide a transportation service; send you to work/school/appointment so that you would not be late; pick you up in the rain so that you would not catch a cold; rush you to the hospital so that you remain in good health. In return, we want you to know we are still human and need your appreciation more than just criticism.

Next time, when you see a taxi signalling left but suddenly turning to the right, don't be too quick to point a finger at him. It could be the passenger giving him the wrong signal. If you see a taxi driving on the left, give way to him because he could be picking up or dropping passengers.

To our valued customers, thank you for your fare. Hope you appreciate our service.