Wednesday, August 20, 2014

The Third Eye

When the taxi driver appeared to have difficulty with our destination, we suggested he use the GPS system in his cab, but he said the LCD display was not a navigation system. It was just a digitised map, and yes, his rental did go up after it was fitted. We then taught him how to enable turn-by-turn voice guidance navigation with Google maps on his android smartphone.

ComfortDelGro recently installed in-vehicle cameras for its fleet of more than 16,000 taxis, purportedly as an added safety and security measure for drivers to identify passengers who evade fares, as well as to provide video evidence for accident situations. If rentals also did increase, it is not public knowledge.

ComfortDelGro is now testing a new smart camera on 30 taxis for the next 6 months that it says can determine real-time traffic risks while a vehicle is in motion and prompt the driver with audio and visual warnings.  Mobileye® is a “smart” camera located on the front windshield and uses proprietary pedestrian detection technologies to measure the distance to vehicles, monitor lane markings, speed signs and hopefully avoid collision with objects being scanned. Nothing is mentioned about prevention from being rammed from the side by a speeding Ferrari trying to beat the lights at Rochor Road. The installation for the fancy camera, which retails for S$2,300, will be done for free for the cabbies. Who has to end up paying for the expensive accessory is not disclosed.

Yang Ban Seng, ComfortDelGro’s chief executive for its taxi business, said “This device acts as another ‘eye’ for our cabbies, who spend a large part of their days and nights on the road.” What we really need is someone to keep an eye on the costs of operation, and work towards reducing exorbitant taxi charges, not find another excuse to hike fares.

17 comments:

  1. Who is the supplier?
    Is it a $2 company?

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  2. Yes, what we really need is reduce cost of operation. Recently I noticed workers digging out the green grass and plants and built concrete pavements ADJACENT to block of flats or erect steel railings AROUND block of flats. WTF, what a waste of money and destroy the greenery, and for the railings- create inconvenient for people who want to walk out of the flats. Same with those sheltered big zig zag handicapped walkway which handicapped people also do not want to use, they rather take a shortcut route.

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    1. the digging up and widening of perfectly good drains is going on in several parts of the island. trees along roadsides are being removed for this multi-multi-million $ exercise. one would have thought the money would be spent first on repairing drains in bad shape, but it's not the case....

      one reason for the multi-multi-million $ exercise is to provide pavements, even though pavements already exist and the new pavements are badly laid. so, lots of useless extra concrete to reflect more heat.

      a second reason is so rubbish doesn't collect in the drains. we'll never know if it slips in and gathers, because heck, we cant see it....

      another reason is to stop mosquitoes breeding.

      I hope someone has sent a firm memo to tell the mosquitoes that they are Not to fly through the roadside grills into the drains, lay their eggs in stagnant water which sees no sun, and that their kids are Not to fly out through those same grills.

      one would think the theories as to why covering drains is the way to go would be tested first before this gungho multi-multi-million $ exercise was launched, but it does not seem to have been done.

      could it be that the govt person in charge didn't want to be divisive and therefore simply accepted the order given by his boss, like a good kid does?

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    2. We see this all the time. Trimming roadside trees when no more branches and leaves to trim. Cutting grasses that are already short. Digging, and re-digging roads. Trimming hedges that are already botak. Talk about productivity. Nparks and LTA have too many Bangla, Indian workers. And still complaining about worker shortages. The trees themselves are complaining by collapsing. If they want to manicure the whole of Stinkapoor, then no amount of workers will be enough. And they are creating more vanity projects to manicure, like the Jewel in Changi Airport. Bukit Brown, Bidadari etc were doing fine before these scholars put their dirty bulldozers on them, while the mosquitoes are buzzing all around to your veins.

      Haven't you seen one or two workers digging a hole while 3 or 4 are watching? I saw a tractor breaking some concrete while a worker was hosing it to prevent dust from flying around. Like they say, how many workers do you need to change a light bulb?

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  3. PUB just replaced our electric meter. With exactly the same model. Where's the innovation? Or are they clearing stock?

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    1. Like the gov't gave each household a N95 mask and spend and spend....

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    2. How much does a N95 mask cost to give away?

      How much does your hospital cost when medical tourism takes over your healthcare where you end up staying in overcrowded cheap tents?

      http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1574197/treatments-fly-asia-top-destination-medical-tourism

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  4. Anyone know why taxi drivers hate PAP so much ? Henry Low doesn't seems to know why ? I tell you why.

    If we consider COE as an income tax payable by taxi drivers, it would mean that a S$80,000 COE is equivalent to S$8,000 yearly income tax payable to the Govt by taxi drivers via taxi rentals to taxi companies. Unless our taxi companies is subsidising these COE, it actually means our taxi drivers is actually doing another compulsory National Service through income tax contributions.

    Who else in the employment sector has to pay a S$8K tax on top of whatever tax payable a montly income of S$3+ supposedly the average earnings of a taxi driver ? Incidentally, if the bus driver does not have to pay COE, why does the taxi driver have to pay it when both are considered modes of public transport ?

    What is worse is that the taxi driver who pays this tax via income earned from driving the taxi has no employment benefits, no tax deductibles, no claims for expenses, etc. ? How not to hate PAP for being so greedy ?

    Maybe Henry Low doesn't have to agree a bit since it is not him who is paying for the tax. It is the taxi drivers who are the ones suffering at the hands of the cunning PAP scholars.

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    1. Taxi drivers are those that use their hands and legs to earn a decent living. But those gov't's policies make life difficult for them. Those ministers and directors in transport ministry, transport companies, in LTA should work as taxi drivers, bus drivers for 1 month, and have a feel of the ground.

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    2. Henry Low, a PAP grassroot member, is a sotong. Doesn't he know that our taxi drivers are formerly PMEs whose jobs were taken by the Foreign Talents invited here by the PAP? He expects our taxi drivers to be happy with the PAP like himself? Hahaha.

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  5. Well, our scholars are all trained in the finest Oxbridge tradion of Keynesian economics right? Keynes said: digging up holes on the ground and filling them up is an excellent way to generate growth and jobs. Of course he also said it is what desperate government in an economic downturn should do, and our admin service scholars omitted the last part. So perpetually, with a free for all access to taxpayers funded "initiatives", you will find everywhere you go in this red dot, people repeatedly digging up and filling holes on the roads, on the turf next to the roads, on walking path in small parks perfectly good. Just go around Toa Payoh, lots of void decks flooring being dug up, filled up, painted, repainted. Behind Blk 1 Lor 7, there used to be a big playground for children to play and old people to gather. It was dug up 5 years ago, filled with cement, and dug up again 2 years ago, some structures went up, then no workers for the past 12 months. And the list of GDP-generating taxpayers-funded "improvements" go on and on and on.

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    1. Well, most of our scholars are from Cambridge, not Oxford. John Maynard Keynes was from Cambridge. Very few Singapore scholars went to Oxford - I can only think of Tan Jee Say.

      Anyway, in the long run, we are all dead.

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    2. And Tan Eng Liang who went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar - the only one from Singapore?

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  6. Please note...successful countries and states always learn from failures...just to name 2...prussia and the roman republic...

    For PAP Singapore....PAP only learn from success...their version of manipulating legits laws to generate revenue to feed themselves...no state or country can last long with this type of success...cos a disruption means the pain and deaths of many...while the PAP just fly out of Singapore easily without an iota of suffering nor pain to themselves...

    Interesting no?

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  7. Taxi offers a great opportunity to test new gizmos... at a very low price or for free from the vendors. Anyway, its not a taxi company...
    its a car rental company that is sanctioned to operate like a taxi service.

    Taxi drivers are being duped
    The public are being duped
    Tourists are being duped
    Shareholders are being rewarded.

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  8. 60% of Singaporeans will tell that NO PAP LEADER AND MEMBER WILL EVER LEAVE SIN. THEY WILL STAY TO PROTECT SIN TO THEIR LAST BREATH.

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    Replies
    1. I think they will stay to protect Singapore's Reserves to their last breath.
      Singaporeans? Not so much.

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