This cabby earns $6k and is his own boss

Former sales manager Mark Leow took a pay cut to become a taxi driver but still considers it a good move.

"I can do more for myself as a taxi driver than working for other people," said the 32-year-old Institute of Technical Education graduate in automotive repairs.

Mr Leow, who used to work in sales at a multinational company, declined to reveal his previous salary, but said he now earns more than $6,000 a month as a cabby.

As a MaxiCab driver with transport giant ComfortDelGro, he earns mainly from shuttling corporate clients, hotel guests and airport passengers in his seven-seater van. He says it is not impossible to earn a decent living from driving a cab - it is all about having the right attitude because the demand for taxis is always there.

"You go out on the street and you can see so many people waving their hands for a taxi," he said. "There is no downtime for us."

Mr Leow said making money as a cabby is all about knowing where to go.

For instance, there is no point for a cabby to wait for a fare in the city after going there in the morning, because hardly anyone will be heading out of town at that time.

"You have to go to where the people are," he said, adding that he would usually head to nearby neighbourhoods or stop at hotels looking for passengers heading to the airport after dropping a fare off in the city.

A typical day for him starts at 6am and ends around 6pm, though on some days he pulls a longer day and ends at 9pm. On Sundays, he rests.

On average, he earns about $300 a day after paying $155 for rental and $40 for fuel. He said although he earned more in his previous job, he also spent a lot of time away from home because of business trips overseas.

One of the perks of the job is that he can take time out during his work hours to meet his family for meals.

"Now, how much time I put in is how much I earn," said the father of a two-year-old girl.

He said being a taxi driver is similar to being an entrepreneur; he's his own boss without needing to pump in a lot of start-up capital.

"If you own a business, you have to be creative, advertise and worry about expanding," said Mr Leow, who lives in a five-room Housing Board flat in Choa Chu Kang. "Now all I'm doing is selling my service and my hard work."

As for taxi drivers not having such benefits as annual bonuses, medical leave and Central Provident Fund contributions, Mr Leow said he has to look after his affairs on his own.

"I have my own medical insurance and set aside money for retirement like I would if I was given CPF," he said. "It's just all about managing my money well."

Having observed more young men and women choosing to be cabbies, he said it is an attractive option for those who want to avoid the rat race.

"It's a renewal of the industry," he said, referring to the rising number of people like him who choose to be cabbies over regular jobs. "Just like in the 1960s when many young men joined the business."

For him, becoming a cabby was a career choice and not a stepping stone to another job or just something to do to pass the time. He said: "It is a fantastic industry to be in and I see a good future here."

SOURCE

What do you think? I agree with him totally. How well a cabby earns really depends on how hard he works and what kind of mindset he adopts. Sadly, there aren't much cabbies like him around in Singapore. Looking at the statistics, Singapore has almost double the number of taxis as compared to Hong Kong, but the amount of passengers we carried still lags behind our counterpart.

Why is that so? Alot boils down to the attitude of the cabbies here. Most of them are middle-aged  ex-PMEs who lost their jobs or couldn't find jobs in their original industry and ended up being a cabby. How often you see cabbies relaxing half a day away at home or coffeeshops, earning enough just to pay off the daily rents and diesel costs? Productivity is lost whenever the taxi isn't on the road. In addition, one of the most ridiculous things discovered few weeks back about lack of taxis during rainy conditions was that cabbies stop their vehicles due to fear of accidents.

The taxi industry needs more people like Mark Leow above to spruce up the scene. If not it will simply continue to be sluggish and no matter how many taxis are added to our already very congested road, it will never be enough.

Grey Subaru Hit & Run

Looking at the way the car was driven towards impact, that female driver obviously didn't have any sort of control on the car; going too fast and unable to keep up with the steering. From the looks of it, it's an automatic transmission Subaru Impreza 1.6L.

Location: Blk 347 Clementi Ave 5 open carpark, 20th Oct about 12am according to video timestamp.

If you saw the accident or you know the white Mercedez cab driver, please alert the video uploader by adding your contact details to a comment on the video.

Road Rage?

It's the talk of the local forums now that this driver(SFY1668P) is a pretty hard driving person after being caught on camera a few times by other road users.

To be fair, this video doesn't show the full story. We have no idea what happened before the Subaru went crazy and started doing dangerous maneuvers as shown. It's not helped by the fact that the video uploader " MrGooddriver" is quite a paranoid driver himself finding fault in every single move not to his liking as judged by his other uploaded videos on YouTube.

COE prices for cars up sharply

SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums rose across the board at the end of the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday. 

The sharpest increase was in Category A (cars 1,600cc and below and taxis). Here, the premium rose 15.5 per cent or S$9,235 to S$68,656. 

This was followed by Category B (cars above 1,600cc), where the premium rose nearly 10 per cent or S$8,212 to S$90,501. 

In the Open Category, where the COEs can be used for any vehicle type but which are used mostly for cars, the premium rose nearly 7 per cent or S$5,701 to hit S$92,700. 

The COE prices for both commercial vehicles and motorcycles also moved up. The premium for commercial vehicles went up S$249 to S$55,805 while the premium for motorcycles increased S$99 to S$1,859. 

This latest round of bidding will be the final exercise before the new quota numbers for the next six months (August to January 2013) take effect.

The Land Transport Authority announced on July 12 that there will be 3,226 COEs available per month in the next six months, which are 12.7 per cent fewer than the number for the last six months.  

Motor dealers said the tightening of quota is likely to lead to higher car prices in the near term.
Ron Lim, GM, Tan Chong Motor Sales, said: "Take Category A for example. At S$68,000, this is a historical high... I suppose a lot of distributors would have to factor higher COE prices in their new pricing."

SOURCE

Just as expected, Cat A COE skyrocketed even before the massive quota reduction kicks in. It makes you shudder thinking about what's gonna happen in the next bidding two weeks later. Will it raise another ten grand? Do you think this is getting out of hand?

Nearly 13% fewer COEs for next 6 months

SINGAPORE: A total of 19,351 Certificates of Entitlement (COE) will be made available between August this year and January 2013. 

This is a cut of 2,809 or 12.7 per cent from the 22,160 certificates available in the previous six-month period from February to July 2012. 

The cut comes mainly from the small cars category, where the quota will see a drop of 36.6 per cent. The category will now have a monthly quota of just 786 certificates, down from 1,239 between February and July this year. 

The COE quota for the open category also dropped significantly. It will now have a quota of 485, a 21.3 per cent drop from the previous six-month period. 

The COE quota for big cars will be 701 per month. This is comparable to the monthly quota of 699 between February and July 2012. 

For goods vehicles and buses, the COE quota has been increased to 360 per month, a 12.85 per cent increase from the previous six-month period. 

There will also be more monthly COEs for motorcycles, at 894 - up from 820 in the previous six-month period. 

Market watchers said they expected smaller quotas due to a fall in the number of vehicles de-registered over the past six months. 

It fell by 8.7 per cent, compared with the second half of last year. 

Triangle Auto's director Michael Wong said: "If you compare this scrap rate to the last six months - which is July last year to December - the total number of scraps for Category A has actually fallen. So that is why you have a lower Cat A COE, and that's one of the main reasons for the reduction." 

Market watchers expect COE premiums to go up for small cars, testing the recent highs of S$67,000. 

Tan Chong Motors' general manager Ron Lim said: "The issue on hand is that demand has sort of cooled off following the announcement that Land Transport Authority (LTA) or the government itself is going to review what they can do to curb this COE crunch.  

"There are quite a number of customers who have been holding back and this is building up a pent-up demand. And now with this cut, you're going to see COE prices moving up quite sharply, at least in the short term." 

Bidding under this quota will start with the August 2012 First Open Bidding Exercise.
LTA said the COE quota for August 2012 to January 2013 consists of two components. 

These are: the provision for a one per cent vehicle growth, based on the vehicle population as at December 31, 2011; and the replacement COEs for vehicles de-registered between January and June this year.  

The next COE quota announcement for the COE bidding period from February 2013 to July 2013 will be made in January 2013. 

In May this year, LTA had announced that the vehicle growth rate will be reduced to 1.0 per cent per annum from August 2012, before being further reduced to 0.5 per cent each year from February 2013 to January 2015.  

In addition, a total of 4,789 remaining adjustments for over-projections in Quota Years 2008 and 2009 that were scheduled to be spread over bidding months from August 2012 to January 2014 will now be deferred for one year from August 2012 to July 2013.
They will resume from August 2013 to January 2015.

SOURCE

It is going to be crunch time in the COE bidding from August 2012 to January 2013, especially for Category A which cars up to 1600cc uses. This category will see a massive decrease in quota from the current 1,239 to a much lower 786.


So what do buyers of this category face? Intense competition and skyrocketing Cat A COE prices which will spill over to Cat B buyers. Taxi companies putting in bulk bids into Cat A is not going to make things any better. Current Cat A COE price is S$59,421. With a decrease in quota, its price may shoot up to above S$70,000.


Bread and butter Japanese cars will face even stiffer competition from its continental counterparts with C&C and Performance Motors bringing in small engine turbocharged Benz and Beemers. One of them is the new and improved Mercedes-Benz C180, which is already a very popular model today.


Buckle up guys, 'cause the COE is going on a trip to the moon on a rocket.

Bugis Ferrari Fatal Accident

The coffin of Ma Chi, the Ferrari driver who was involved in Saturday's three-vehicle pile-up, arriving at Mandai Crematorium on Monday afternoon. (Yahoo! photo/Elizabeth Soh)

Relatives and friends of deceased Ferrari driver Ma Chi, who was involved in a three-vehicle pile-up on Saturday, gathered for his cremation at Mandai Crematorium on Monday afternoon.

About 18 people, including Ma’s younger brother, attended the cremation. Visibly absent were Ma’s pregnant wife as well as his mother, although both were at Ma’s wake at Mount Vernon earlier in the afternoon.

According to Chinese customs, an elderly person should not show respect to someone younger and, similarly, it is considered bad luck for Ma’s pregnant wife to attend his cremation.

Ma, a financial advisor from Sichuan, was behind the wheel of a red Ferrari on early Saturday morning when it slammed against a taxi, which subsequently cut into the lane of a passing motorcycle at the intersection of Rochor Road and Victoria Street in Bugis.

The three-vehicle accident killed two others -- taxi driver Cheng Teck Hock and his passenger, believed to be a 20-something Japanese woman.

A young woman reportedly from China was with Ma in the Ferrari during the crash and she suffered head injuries and fractured her right leg.

According to AsiaOne, Ting Ting, 28, Ma’s wife, was surprised when reporters asked her about the identity of the female passenger.

Motorcyclist Muhammad Najib Ghazali escaped with a spine injury, dislocated right arm and a rib fracture.

Ma's younger brother (in white) walking out after the cremation (Yahoo! photo)



Friends of Ma reportedly flew in from China on Monday morning just to attend the cremation, which lasted less than an hour.

Most of them appeared well-heeled and sported branded bags and stylish clothes. Ma’s bespectacled and small-built brother who looked to be in his 20s was seen with an unshaven face and shoulder-length hair.

When contacted by Yahoo! Singapore, the undertaker in charge of Ma’s funeral processions was not sure whether the family’s planned to have Ma’s ashes sent back to China. He added that the family is still mourning and has not made a decision yet.

Ma’s relatives and friends refused to speak to the media.

According to The Sunday Times, Ma had relocated to Singapore with his wife and child four years ago and was said to be applying for permanent residency in the city-state.

It is not known whether his family will continue staying in Singapore.

SOURCE

Biggest traffic news in Singapore for the past two week. Many condemn the irresponsible attitude of the Ferrari driver, Ma Chi, for dashing through a red light, killing himself and two other innocent victims. That car, by the way, is a S$1.3m Ferrari 599 GTO.

Please drive responsibly. Having so much power in your foot doesn't give you the right to abuse it. If you want to speed, please do it in the racetrack

RIP to the innocent deceased.

SIA's voluntary no pay leave

Singapore Airlines said it had asked its pilots to volunteer for unpaid leave for up to two years as it struggles with a slowdown in the aviation sector.

SIA's offer to pilots below the rank of captain comes after it last month said profits had fallen by more than half in the final quarter of 2011 due to rising fuel costs, and weakening passenger and cargo demand from Europe.

The call, which will allow the pilots to join SIA's rivals, was made to "help address a temporary surplus of senior first officers, first officers, second officers and cadet pilots," spokesman Nicholas Ionides told AFP on Friday.

He stated that SIA was "not able to provide specific targets for how many pilots may take up the offer" as it was a voluntary scheme.

Despite the move, Ionides said SIA has no plans to reduce flights and downsize its operating fleet in the near term.

The announcement comes as the global industry is hit by soaring fuel prices and low demand.

The International Air Transport Association in November cut its forecast for the sector's profits this year by a quarter to $3.5 billion, but warned of losses of more than $8 billion if the global economy suffers another downturn.

SIA announced net profit plunged 53 percent year on year to Sg$135.2 million in the October-December quarter, while it said last week it would raise fuel surcharges by up to $28.

About half of SIA's 2,335 pilots were not of captain rank as of 31 March last year, SIA's 2010/2011 annual report stated.

"To the question of why we are offering the scheme, the global financial crisis in 2009-10 was a factor and resulted in some excess capacity at the time. Growth was also slower than anticipated after that," Ionides added.

"We view the resultant surplus pilot situation as temporary, and are therefore managing this by introducing the voluntary scheme."

SIA did not halt pilot recruitment and training during the financial crisis as it takes three years to train a first officer, resulting in the current pilot surplus as the aviation sector struggled to take off, Ionides said.

Pilots who take up the offer will be allowed to work for other airlines, including SIA's long-haul budget carrier arm Scoot, which will begin flying by the middle of this year. SIA also owns almost 33 percent of budget carrier Tiger Airways.

"Should there be positions available at Scoot, pilots on voluntary no-pay leave may apply for them," he said.

However, if the pilots were to join a rival carrier they could find themselves starting at the bottom of the ladder while the fact they would only be available for two years at most might work against them.

Captain P. James, president of the Airline Pilots Association Singapore, questioned why pilots were being asked to go on leave when there's a need for them in other airlines with the SIA Group.

"We can understand that there's a downturn but what we cannot understand and cannot accept is why pilots are being asked to go on leave where there's a need for them in other airlines within the group," James told the Straits Times.

SIA shares were slightly down in early trade, shedding 0.37 percent to Sg$10.85 as of 0215 GMT.

-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story --

SOURCE

VOLUNTARY NO PAY LEAVE (VNPL) FOR SENIOR FIRST OFFICERS, FIRST OFFICERS, SECOND OFFICERS AND CADET PILOTS

The capacity cuts during the 2009-2010 economic downturn and the persistent weak market conditions thereafter have resulted in a pilot surplus situation, especially with regard to First Officers. Even though we reduced Cadet Pilot recruitment when the economic downturn occurred, we had to carry the surplus Cadet Pilots who were recruited earlier, as Cadet Pilots are recruited on a 3-year lead-time basis. The VNPL scheme will allow staff to take leave for personal reasons and also help the Company manage excess manpower.

2 The voluntary no-pay leave scheme is now being offered as a means to ameliorate the excess crew situation. The situation of excess First Officers is particularly acute on the B777 fleet. The scheme is open for application from now to 31 March 2012.

3 The VNPL shall be for a continuous period of 1 week up to 2 years.

4 The conditions for the VNPL are in Annex 1 and the FAQs are in Annex 2.

5 Those who wish to apply may submit their requests via e-mail, as follows:
Senior First Officers/First Officers :
Second Officers :
Cadets :

6 Applications submitted after 31 March 2012 would not qualify for the
VNPL benefits, and would be treated as normal no-pay leave.

7 Dialogue sessions have been planned to address any queries you may have.
The date and venue will be posted on Waves.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------

VOLUNTARY NO PAY LEAVE (VNPL) FOR SENIOR FIRST OFFICERS, FIRST OFFICERS, SECOND OFFICERS AND CADET PILOTS

The following conditions will apply under the scheme:

1. APPLICATION WINDOW
This Voluntary No Pay Leave scheme is open for applications from now till 31 March 2012.

2. DURATION OF NO PAY LEAVE
The no pay leave shall be for a continuous period of 1 week up to 2 years.

3. ELIGIBILITY
This Voluntary No Pay scheme is open for applications from Senior First Officers, First Officers, Second Officers and Cadet Pilots. Applications will be subject to approval, taking into account operational requirements and, for Second Officers, your stage of training.

4. CLEARING OF ANNUAL LEAVE
The employee should clear any annual leave earned up to the start of his no pay leave period.

5. EMPLOYMENT OUTSIDE THE COMPANY
Employment outside of the Company is permitted subject to the prior written approval of the Company.

6. SUSPENSION OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
The employee shall not enjoy any of his current terms and conditions of service during the no pay leave period. The following exceptions would however be granted:
(i) The employee will be allowed to avail himself of concessional travel during the period of no pay leave. In addition, he will be allowed to use any privilege ticket, which has been earned but not yet used, provided it is used within its validity period.
(ii) Outpatient medical and dental benefits under the Company’s scheme will apply if the aggregate of your no pay leave is less than 30 calendar days per year. If the aggregate of your no pay leave is 30 calendar days or more in a year, the outpatient medical and dental benefits will only apply for the first aggregate of less than 30 calendar days.

7. PAYMENT OF SERVICE INCREMENT, BONUS (IF ANY), ANNUAL WAGE SUPPLEMENT, LEAVE ENTITLEMENT, ETC
The period of no pay leave will not be counted for any payments or leave entitlements if the aggregate of no pay leave taken adds up to 30 calendar days or more in a year.

8. MONTHLY FIXED ALLOWANCES
All monthly fixed allowances (as applicable) shall be pro-rated to take into account the period of no pay leave.

9. LENGTH OF SERVICE
No pay leave in the aggregate of 30 calendar days or more in a year will not count towards service with the Company.

10. INCOME TAX CLEARANCE (FOR NON-SINGAPOREANS)
If your no pay leave period is more than 3 months, the Company will withhold payment of monies due to you for the month prior to the commencement of your no pay leave until you have obtained tax clearance from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Payrolls Department will therefore be submitting the IR21 form to IRAS for your tax clearance one month prior to the No Pay Leave period. Should you have any queries, please contact Payrolls Department.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A What is the reason for implementing VNPL?
�� The capacity cuts during the 2009-2010 economic downturn and the persistent weak market conditions thereafter have resulted in a pilot surplus situation, especially with regard to First Officers. Even though we reduced Cadet Pilot recruitment when the economic downturn occurred, we had to carry the surplus Cadet Pilots who were recruited earlier, as Cadet Pilots are recruited on a 3-year lead-time basis. The VNPL scheme will allow staff to take leave for personal reasons and also help the Company manage excess manpower.

B Can I apply for VNPL in blocks of say 1 week per occasion over a period of 3 or 4 months, or in some other combination, rather than a full stretch?
�� Yes you can do so, subject to approval.

C How do I apply for the VNPL?
��

D How do I apply for alternative employment while on VNPL?

�� If you wish to take up outside employment during VNPL, whether part-time or full-time, please send an email to your Chief Pilot, copied toFLT_HRA@singaporeair.com.sg stating the following:

o Your Staff Number.
o Your name.
o The alternative employer’s company name.
o The alternative employer’s nature of business.
o The job/title/position you will hold in the other company.
o Your duties in the other company.
o The period of the alternative employment (from and to dates).
�� You will be informed by DSD (Crew HR Admin) if your application is approved.

E What are the general guidelines on the approval of alternative employment during VNPL?
�� Factors of whether there will be a conflict of interest will be taken into account.

F Will there be conflict of interest if I work for another airline?
�� The Company will assess your job duties to determine whether there is conflict of interest.

G If I take up alternative employment with another airline, the minimum engagement period may be 3 years.
This exceeds the 2-year maximum period stated in the VNPL Terms & Conditions. Will my VNPL application for 3 years be approved?
�� For as long as manpower strength continues to be surplus to operational needs, applications for a 3-year VNPL period will be considered favourably for this purpose on a case by case basis.

H If I take up alternative employment with another airline, will my flying hours and sectors be recognised?
�� Yes, your hours and sectors will be recognised up to the maximum limits stated in the CAM for flying experience outside SIA as follows:
o Hours - maximum limit of 230 light aircraft hours, and 2,500 hours on aircraft exceeding 5,700 kg. all-up weight.
o Sectors - maximum limit of 500 sectors and 165 P1 U/S sectors on aircraft exceeding 5,700 kg. all-up weight.

I If I take up alternative employment with another airline, will my seniority be affected and will my VNPL period count towards years of service with SIA?
�� Your seniority in the company will not be affected. However, your VNPL period will not count towards years of service with SIA, and therefore all benefits and payments based on years of service will be pro-rated, such as Service Increment, Bonus, AWS, leave entitlements, etc.

J If I take up alternative employment with another airline, will my VNPL period count towards service of my bond period?
�� Yes, the VNPL period will count towards service of the bond period. For example, for a pilot who has served 5 years of a 7-year bond before going on a 3-year VNPL period, the bond will be considered fully served upon return from VNPL.

K Will my Cadet Pilot Training Repayment Sum be waived if I go on VNPL?
�� No, it will not be waived. The Company will work with you towards the payment details.

L If I take up alternative employment with another airline, how will my performance during my VNPL be taken into consideration by SIA?
�� We will need to assess your performance based on existing SIA criteria, for both fields of technical competence and personal qualities, upon your return from VNPL. Criteria specifically for this purpose have yet to be developed but it will be formulated so as to make a suitable assessment of your performance.

M Can First Officers from all fleets apply?
�� Yes, but each application will be treated on a case-by-case basis, subject to individual fleet requirements. The current large excess of crew is predominately on the B777 fleet.

N Will the Company recall me while I am on VNPL, if the business picks up and additional manning is required?
�� If the Company requires you to come back before the end of the VNPL period, it will be on a basis of mutual agreement.

O If I am on VNPL and I am not able to respond to the early recall by the Company due to personal reasons (e.g. half way through a training course), will the company terminate my employment?
�� No, the company will not terminate your employment during VNPL.

P Will I be allowed to extend the VNPL beyond the 2 years period and if so, will it be on the same terms and conditions of current VNPL?
�� Extension beyond 2 years will normally not be permitted but if there are any unique circumstances, they can be considered separately.

Q Will I be allowed to cut short the VNPL and return to work before my originally approved VNPL end-date?
�� This will be assessed based on operational requirements.

R Will my dependents continue to be covered under the QBE dependents medical scheme while I am on VNPL?
�� You will continue to be covered by the QBE medical insurance scheme until the end of the medical insurance policy year. The annual QBE medical insurance policy year ends on 31 Aug 2012. Staff on VNPL may, if they so wish, renew their policy by paying the full premium charged by QBE to continue their insurance from 1 Sep 2012. When they subsequently return to work on completion of their VNPL, the Company will re-commence its subsidy of the premium from the date of their return to work.

S Will I continue to be covered under the Group Term Life Scheme and Personal Accident Insurance while I am on VNPL?
�� No. The GTLS and Personal Accident Insurance will be suspended for the period of the VNPL.

T Will I continue to be covered under the Loss of License Insurance while I am on VNPL?
�� No. The LOL Insurance will be suspended for the period of the VNPL.

U Must I surrender my Staff ID and SQ e-portal token before going on VNPL?
�� Yes, if your VNPL exceeds 3 months.

V How can I make use of the employee medical and dental benefits that I’m eligible for during the first 29 days of my VNPL if I do not have my Staff ID?
�� If your VNPL exceeds 3 months or more, you will be issued a Letter of Guarantee (in view that your staff ID will be returned to the Company), which you can use to identify yourself as an employee of Singapore Airlines at any SIA-appointed clinic. The Letter of Guarantee will cover you for the first 29 days of your VNPL.

W Without my SQ e-portal token, how do I apply for Staff Travel tickets while on VNPL?
�� Please email staff_travel@singaporeair.com.sg with the following information:
o Your staff number.
o Your name.
o Indicate that you are on VNPL.
o Indicate your seat bookings and ticketing needs.

X Will my paid childcare leave be pro-rated if my VNPL is approved?
�� If you are eligible for paid childcare leave, it will be pro-rated if your aggregated NPL for the calendar year is 30 or more days.

This isn't the first time SIA has done this. Question is, what if no one volunteers? What will they resort to doing? Just a few weeks ago, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew was talking up about aviation in Singapore, but it seems to be otherwise with the case of SIA.

Cadets and S/Os will feel the most vulnerable while F/Os will not want to stop working when they're getting paid fairly well for the job. Joining a rival airline like Jetstar Asia will be an option, but how many are willing to do it voluntarily?