Just realised I haven't written anything since July. Here to rant a wee bit... about #comfortdelgro taxi fleet. Rather, this one taxi driver. An infuriating, frustrating and whatever you call pissed off experience!
Normally, from my home to work, I would take no more than 25mins at this time of travel. And when I say this, I actually went to check the previous trip history and none of them are more than 25mins. Yet, today's journey took almost 50mins all because the #comfortdelgro GPS from the MDT (as the driver called it) requested he bring me on a sight seeing journey around Singapore!!!
I called for a cab at approximately 0725hrs, waited around 8mins for the driver to arrive, only to have him drive past me because he followed his GPS and didn't know where I was. Called him, took a few minutes for him to properly locate me and started my journey at approximately 0735hrs today, only to have it end at 0822hrs. This is so bad because I WAS ALMOST LATE FOR WORK and the reason is no good reason at all because I catered an hour for travel.
First he took a left when he exited the carpark and went towards Boundary Road. I assumed, he was going to take the Braddell exit to CTE - saving me one ERP, but no, the GPS requested that he go straight towards Bendeemer. When I asked why he didn't take the right towards Braddell when he was at Upper Serangoon, his answer was simply, "GPS say this is the best way." Okay, so I trusted him and the #comfortdelgro GPS but the #comfortdelgro GPS actually led him past 3 ERP gantries, 10 over traffic lights, and took almost 50mins to end this trip! If this trip wasn't a flat fare, and if the ERP gates are activated, can you imagine how much I would have to pay for this ride? He didn't even tried to remember my destination because when his GPS started making weird noises at 0810hrs, he panicked! He had to restart his GPS, while asking me where I was going, and he even needed me to guide him on how to go because he is not sure with the roads. At one point, his car was swerving between lanes because he was so concentrated on keying in his ID and password to get his GPS working! This is unsafe, unprofessional and outright unbelievable!
On top of everything, I was actually checking google maps with real time traffic on the way. There were no reported accidents on CTE, everything looks blue and normal. Traffic was also smooth even on KPE/MCE. So, I really cannot understand why the #comfortdelgro GPS recommends that going through Potong Pasir, Bendeemer, Bugis, Chinatown, then Jalan Besar - leading me on a early Singapore Tour - is actually the better way to go! This is precisely the reason why Taxi Drivers always get complaints on taking the further route trying to charge passengers extra. Again, this would have happened to me if today wasn't a flat fare trip. I always cater an hour for travel in case of bad traffic but there is absolutely no bad traffic today. The only reason I was almost late to work is because of the #comfortdelgro lousy GPS directions and an inexperienced driver with almost zero knowledge on the roads in Singapore.
Here's hoping that #comfortdelgro will update and upgrade their GPS and make sure it leads the best way or it is as good as a white elephant. People usually choose cab over MRT/ Bus for a reason. For me, I usually get a cab or grab in the morning for added convenience so that I can arrive at my work place earlier without getting out of the house earlier. However, today's trip took much longer for me than when I would travel via MRT, gave me an additional heart attack because I was almost late for work, so I really question why I am paying 10times more than an MRT fare for convenience that I didn't get today.
