Just look at the long queues of taxis in Taiwan. This is a common scene everywhere. This picture is taken at their most popular shopping centre - Shinkong Mitsukoshi. Our dear Taxi uncles in Singapore, how lucky you are in Singapore!
I always find our taxi services substandard. They are not dependable. Always not around when you need them most. Each time as I walk towards the taxi with my luggage, they would take forever to get out of their seat to help you with the luggage. By the time they arrive at the boot, I'd have put the luggage inside and their job was just to close the boot. At the hotel entrance, you see long queues, both locals and foreigners alike, waiting for taxis, which may not appear.
It's just not about service, our taxi drivers here in Singapore have this huge delusion problem, thinking that they are the Kings of the road too, either hogging on extreme right lane with 80 - 100km/h, or driving between two lanes, or stopping at anywhere they like.
Not to mention about their bad light recently about over-charging tourists.
Each time I am in Taiwan, I never have any problem getting a taxi. At the hotel or by the roadside. Their service level is also superb. They jump out of the taxi to open the boot for you when they see your luggage, bow with politeness and never fail to smile and answer my questions. I do not look like a foreigner to them at all, because I'm a Chinese, and I speak in Taiwanese accent each time I'm there. So that rules out the possibility of service differential between locals and foreigners too.
I do admit that their taxi charges have gone up abit now (now it's the same as Singapore fares) due to rise in oil prices, but their call cab charge is only 10NTD, equivalent to a mere SGD50cents!
Like us, Taipei has an efficient tranportation system, with the railway, MRT, cars and motorcycles. However just somehow, it's the service level and how much they want business which makes me think just how lucky our taxi uncles in Singapore are.
And now I'm just wishing that they be posted to Taipei for some exchange program to learn!!
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