Taking cabs in Singapore is a religious experience

Well it's not exactly divine but it's something the locals revere with a great amount of tradition, rules and respect. If you break the rules it's going to be met with the same level of fury as you'd encounter going into a church in Rome topless.

After two years of taking cabs I've come to also have a great appreciation for the rules but also a lot of sympathy for tourists who arrive and have no idea how the secret system works.

How to find and flag a taxi

In the downtown area Taxis are not allowed to pull over. They have to go into designated taxi queues. These queues are usually on the side streets or in circular drives in front of malls and hotels. Some hotels only let their guests into their queue. If you look like a foreigner you are probably fine to just wander up to any old bell hop and ask for help getting a cab. Or ask just about anyone where the closest taxi queue is

At a taxi queue, line up and hold your spot. No one is going to let you back in if you dash to get a coffee. Taxis with a green lit-up sign will pull in, people get in and off they go. Very organized! All different taxi companies will visit the queues. You do pay a little more for the initial pick up if the cab is nicer but it's not anything to worry about unless the difference of two or three dollars will ruin your day. Carry cash as even the cabs with visa machines are sometimes not able to use them.

You'll notice that some taxis pull up and people who are waiting outside the queue just hop in. These cabs say "ON CALL" in red lettering on their lit up sign on the roof. It means the customers called the taxi company, booked a cab for a fee and were given that cab's licence plate number (that driver has their name and cell #). Never try to grab a taxi with the "HIRED" or ON CALL" red lettering. The intended occupant will not be very understanding and the driver will be furious with you. It will be embarrassing for everyone involved.

Top Left) this one is available. // Top Right) Someone is already inside
Middle Left) This driver is heading toward Kallang only
Middle right) ON CALL means this driver is pre-booked. // Bottom left) Driver is on a
shift change //Bottom right) driver is probably napping or eating lunch. 

If you are outside the central business district it's perfectly fine to hail taxis that have their green lights on (or if they are old ones just look to see that they have no one in the back seat) as long as you aren't standing at a bus stop, on the edge of a highway or somewhere that prohibits stopping. Also have a look around you and ensure that you aren't about to hail in front of someone who was already there. If someone is hailing go behind them and along the road so they get the first cab. Feel free to smile and say "hi, I'll grab the next one" so they know you're playing fair.

Calling a cab is simple but you might be on the phone for a while. If you are at a hotel ask the concierge to do it for you. If you have an iphone and data or wifi you can get a groovy app that will book a taxi and let you track it with GPS. Download the Comfort Delgro taxi app and go register an account (use a fake SG address if you need to but make sure your name and phone number are correct) on their website. I use this app every day and it's saved my butt 1000s of times.

To make a booking make sure you know your street address or your postal code. If you are calling a cab to a taxi queue in the CBD there's a code for each stop that begins with a letter followed by two numbers. Punch that into your app or give it to the operator and voila they will know more exactly where you are.

If you need a bigger vehicle to move a group of people or a lot of stuff you need to ask for a "maxi cab" which is like a mini van. It sometimes takes a little while to book a maxi cab so don't leave it to the last minute.

Taxi numbers - stick this in your wallet
Comfort Taxi 6552 1111
SMRT Taxi 6555 8888
Smart Cab 6485 7777
TransCab 6555 3333
Premier Taxis 6363 6888
Prime Taxi 6778 0808

Shift changes

The bane of our existence is drivers who claim they are on a shift change and decide they are only going one direction from this point onwards. Sometimes this is an excuse to be picky about who they pick up. None-the-less if a driver leans out the window and says where you go? Be ready to shout your intended destination back or someone else will and he'll let them jump in.

Not getting picked up
Drivers reserve the right to refuse passengers. Sometimes this seems cruel like when they don't want to let a mother in because they'll have to wait an extra few minutes for her to put the stroller in the trunk. Moms with strollers have to pre-book or risk being passed over again and again as they wait in a taxi queue.

The other people taxi drivers will often refuse to pick up are drunk caucasian men. Yup, we westerners have definitely made an impact in Singapore as the most belligerent drunks. In the past year there were two cases of drivers being beat up badly by passengers who look like us so naturally they are spooked as violent behavior is just not part of local culture. If you fit this racial profile and have been over-served try your best to play it cool in the taxi queue or you might have to sleep there.