If you're in Singapore, chances are that sooner rather than later you'll be in a situation where you require a cab, and while just winging it might get you where you want to go, it definitely helps if you know some Singapore-specific taxi essentials.
There are 7 different taxi companies in Singapore: Comfort Taxi, SMRT Taxis, CityCab, TransCab, Premier Taxis, Smart Cab, Prime Taxi and Yellow-Top Taxi. They’re all about the same, and it's a lottery whether you get a decent driver or not, with 3 noticeable exceptions: First thing most people find out the hard way is that the black Chrysler taxis (often the only green ones on the street) charge you almost double the regular fee. Even at the airport, where visiting ang-mos surely have no clue about this, the valets point to them and it's up to you to say you want a regular cab. Black Chrysler taxis will also stop if you're standing at the curb trying to flag a cab down, so you can just wave them on. Second, if you want to ride in style, you're better off trying for one of the white Mercedes taxis. Flag down fee for these is only about a dollar more than for a regular taxi, and the fee per km is only 2 cent higher, while the drivers are usually very friendly and know their way around. Third, the old Toyota taxis are the cheapest, and offer the highest chance of an "interesting" ride, which may include you having to tell the driver where to go and how to get there.
Every building in Singapore has its own postal code. This is quite useful when you need a cab, as you can just send your booking via SMS. Comfort Taxi is the biggest cab company in Singapore, so chances are highest that you will get one of their taxis. For a Comfort SMS booking, just send a message to +65 71 222 saying “Book XXXXXX”, where XXXXXX is the 6-digit postal code of whatever building you are at. This way, at restaurants, just ask for the postal code (or for them to call a taxi for you). You will either get a booking confirmation, together with the taxi's number plate, or a message telling you that all taxis are taken and to try again.
There are a number of apps out there for Singapore taxis. Some of these are quite handy, such as ComfortDelGro Taxi Booking (includes a map where you can see the real-time location of the taxi you ordered), Others, I don’t find very useful, such as SG Taxi Fare (fares are regulated, drivers don’t tend to overcharge and the only significant difference is with Chrysler cabs), Singapore SMRT and Taxi Guide 1.3, or Taxi Meter.
Use gothere.sg to plan your trip. Sometimes, taking a taxi might not be the smartest choice, as MRT or busses might get you there faster (say if you can’t get a cab during peak hours). Gothere will give you the best routes as well as estimated travel times for each of these modes of transport.
For a surcharge, you can pre-book a taxi to pick you up at a given place and time. This makes particular sense if you are in an area where there are few taxis and you need to go someplace during peak periods. Usually, you will easily get a taxi, but on weekends and during peak hours it may take you up to an hour to get a taxi, depending on your location, and weather (if it pours, free taxis will pull over and wait for the rain to stop).
Avoid the queue. At very touristy places, such as Clarke Quay and Boat Quay, the designated taxi stands will have very long queues on the weekends. If you can’t be bothered to wait, just walk a few hundred metres and flag down one of the many green taxis on the way to those taxi stands.
While overcharging is illegal in Singapore, nothing stops cabbies from sometimes taking a ridiculously long route to get you to your destination (talk about driving around the block). This may just be because they don't know any other way. If you know the fastest way, it is by all means a good idea to tell the driver which way to go. On the positive side, some drivers will ask your preferred route to your destination, and will give you advice on how to avoid surcharges for PIE, ERP and whatnot.
Speak your mind. On occasion, your taxi driver will not exactly exhibit common sense, or possibly just cannot be bothered to act in your best interest (i.e. get you where you want to go fast and cheap). When pulling up to a traffic light on a 3 lane road, such a driver may just stay on the middle lane, where there are say 10 cars, a bus and a few trucks ahead of you, instead of changing to the left or right lane, where there are only 3 or four cars each. In such cases, feel free to tell your driver to change to the less crowded lane, and they will do as you say (though sometimes not without grumbling about it).
Come prepared. If you don’t know the way to your destination, and if you don’t have a real-time map app, it’s a good idea to make a print-out of where you want to go (and possibly the best route). Again, I recommend gothere.sg for this. Many of the taxi drivers will be older gents, non-locals (from China, India or Malaysia), not fluent in English, or new on the job. Worst case is a combination of all of these. I had drivers tell me to get out of the cab because they didn’t know the destination, and I have had more than a few that I had to guide turn by turn because they were new, so coming prepared definitely helps.
Lastly, I would like to thank this one driver, who provided me with the most relaxing cab ride of my life. It was one of these night after 11pm, and I stumbled out of the office, totally beat and wanting to go home. I walked up to the curb, and as soon as I stretched my arm out to try my luck he stopped. For once, Comfort made god on its name, the interior of the cab was clean, the music was soothing, and the Malay driver was a true, service-oriented gentleman. The ride home passed quickly thanks to a nice conversation underlined by low-playing classical music, and we said our goodbyes with a smile on our faces. This was a taxi ride as good as it gets anywhere in the world and, alas!, not the rule in Singapore. I tip my hat to you, Mr. Unknown Driver.
There are 7 different taxi companies in Singapore: Comfort Taxi, SMRT Taxis, CityCab, TransCab, Premier Taxis, Smart Cab, Prime Taxi and Yellow-Top Taxi. They’re all about the same, and it's a lottery whether you get a decent driver or not, with 3 noticeable exceptions: First thing most people find out the hard way is that the black Chrysler taxis (often the only green ones on the street) charge you almost double the regular fee. Even at the airport, where visiting ang-mos surely have no clue about this, the valets point to them and it's up to you to say you want a regular cab. Black Chrysler taxis will also stop if you're standing at the curb trying to flag a cab down, so you can just wave them on. Second, if you want to ride in style, you're better off trying for one of the white Mercedes taxis. Flag down fee for these is only about a dollar more than for a regular taxi, and the fee per km is only 2 cent higher, while the drivers are usually very friendly and know their way around. Third, the old Toyota taxis are the cheapest, and offer the highest chance of an "interesting" ride, which may include you having to tell the driver where to go and how to get there.
Every building in Singapore has its own postal code. This is quite useful when you need a cab, as you can just send your booking via SMS. Comfort Taxi is the biggest cab company in Singapore, so chances are highest that you will get one of their taxis. For a Comfort SMS booking, just send a message to +65 71 222 saying “Book XXXXXX”, where XXXXXX is the 6-digit postal code of whatever building you are at. This way, at restaurants, just ask for the postal code (or for them to call a taxi for you). You will either get a booking confirmation, together with the taxi's number plate, or a message telling you that all taxis are taken and to try again.
There are a number of apps out there for Singapore taxis. Some of these are quite handy, such as ComfortDelGro Taxi Booking (includes a map where you can see the real-time location of the taxi you ordered), Others, I don’t find very useful, such as SG Taxi Fare (fares are regulated, drivers don’t tend to overcharge and the only significant difference is with Chrysler cabs), Singapore SMRT and Taxi Guide 1.3, or Taxi Meter.
Use gothere.sg to plan your trip. Sometimes, taking a taxi might not be the smartest choice, as MRT or busses might get you there faster (say if you can’t get a cab during peak hours). Gothere will give you the best routes as well as estimated travel times for each of these modes of transport.
For a surcharge, you can pre-book a taxi to pick you up at a given place and time. This makes particular sense if you are in an area where there are few taxis and you need to go someplace during peak periods. Usually, you will easily get a taxi, but on weekends and during peak hours it may take you up to an hour to get a taxi, depending on your location, and weather (if it pours, free taxis will pull over and wait for the rain to stop).
Avoid the queue. At very touristy places, such as Clarke Quay and Boat Quay, the designated taxi stands will have very long queues on the weekends. If you can’t be bothered to wait, just walk a few hundred metres and flag down one of the many green taxis on the way to those taxi stands.
While overcharging is illegal in Singapore, nothing stops cabbies from sometimes taking a ridiculously long route to get you to your destination (talk about driving around the block). This may just be because they don't know any other way. If you know the fastest way, it is by all means a good idea to tell the driver which way to go. On the positive side, some drivers will ask your preferred route to your destination, and will give you advice on how to avoid surcharges for PIE, ERP and whatnot.
Speak your mind. On occasion, your taxi driver will not exactly exhibit common sense, or possibly just cannot be bothered to act in your best interest (i.e. get you where you want to go fast and cheap). When pulling up to a traffic light on a 3 lane road, such a driver may just stay on the middle lane, where there are say 10 cars, a bus and a few trucks ahead of you, instead of changing to the left or right lane, where there are only 3 or four cars each. In such cases, feel free to tell your driver to change to the less crowded lane, and they will do as you say (though sometimes not without grumbling about it).
Come prepared. If you don’t know the way to your destination, and if you don’t have a real-time map app, it’s a good idea to make a print-out of where you want to go (and possibly the best route). Again, I recommend gothere.sg for this. Many of the taxi drivers will be older gents, non-locals (from China, India or Malaysia), not fluent in English, or new on the job. Worst case is a combination of all of these. I had drivers tell me to get out of the cab because they didn’t know the destination, and I have had more than a few that I had to guide turn by turn because they were new, so coming prepared definitely helps.
Lastly, I would like to thank this one driver, who provided me with the most relaxing cab ride of my life. It was one of these night after 11pm, and I stumbled out of the office, totally beat and wanting to go home. I walked up to the curb, and as soon as I stretched my arm out to try my luck he stopped. For once, Comfort made god on its name, the interior of the cab was clean, the music was soothing, and the Malay driver was a true, service-oriented gentleman. The ride home passed quickly thanks to a nice conversation underlined by low-playing classical music, and we said our goodbyes with a smile on our faces. This was a taxi ride as good as it gets anywhere in the world and, alas!, not the rule in Singapore. I tip my hat to you, Mr. Unknown Driver.
