Who Needs Taxi Vouchers?

After hurting their profit margin by their constant fare increment. The taxi companies decided to give out vouchers to woo commuters back.

Who needs taxi vouchers? Just f*$#king remove the bloody 35% surcharges and reduce the damn taxi fare! Greedy bastards.

The two biggest taxi companies here are going all out to encourage ridership during these troubling economic times.

In the first three months of this year, the average number of daily taxi trips fell to 893,674 - the lowest it has been in five years. Latest figures for May saw patronage decelerate further with numbers dropping to 836,535 compared to 923,494 at the same time last year.

Taxis have been hit hard by the recession and commuters turning to a public transport system that has improved connectivity and options.

In an effort to reverse the downward trend, ComfortDelGro is launching a four-month campaign to give away $280,000 in taxi vouchers.

From Saturday, commuters can text their names and their receipt numbers to 71222 every time they take a taxi for a chance to win the vouchers.

The vice-president of sales and marketing for the company's taxi service, Mr Edwin Yeo, said: 'We believe that with so much more up for grabs this time, commuters will be further encouraged to take cabs.'

Comfort, which is the largest taxi company here with 23,000 taxis, said it had also launched other marketing promotions.

A partnership with Nets rewards lucky passengers who use the payment system with daily cash prizes. And NTUC Linkpoints members can chalk up points if they book Comfort cabs.

SMRT, the second-largest cab company here, is currently tempting customers with its four-month long 'Book And Win' promotion. The event, which began on June 8, rewards 15 riders a month with $100 worth of taxi vouchers. In the grand draw, the top prize is $1,000 worth of vouchers.

These measures are part of a push by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to help prop up the taxi industry. LTA is providing $1 million, to be matched by the companies, to hold promotions, discounts and tie-ups with shopping centres and tourist attractions.

A Case of Trusting the Wrong CASE

The recent Brooke Commercial School has not only raised the question on the reliability of local commercial business school but on the reliability of our CASE organization as well. Brooke was awarded the CASE Trust logo. This gave the students confidence that it is a reliable educational center. since the logo means that, from the CASE Trust site, the "businesses will not unwittingly violate the law". That's why it came as a shock to many when news broke out that the school is giving fake degrees. What is even more surprising is the way CASE responds to the queries on how the school is being awarded the CASE Trust logo.

According to CASE and its executive director, Mr. Seah Seng Choon, students are responsible to do their homework in checking up on the school. So much for protecting the consumers' interest. As someone state, C A S E stands for Can't Answer Sensible Enquiries. Well Mr Seah, they did and their research will shows that the school is CASE Trust registered, meaning it should be ok. If the CASE Trust logo cannot be taken into consideration seriously, what the F*&^K is it for? It is like telling people not to trust the Safety Mark on electrical appliances.

This is very irresponsible of CASE. This is not the first time it has shun its responsibilities in protecting the consumers. According to its website, CASE "is committed towards protecting consumers' interest through information and education, and promoting an environment of fair and ethical trade practices". If it can't even fulfill this, then why the hell we still need them for? Questions should be raised to CASE on how did they qualify business for the CASE Trust logo.

It is sad that we can't even trust anyone, not even an organization created to protect our interest. But then again, nowadays we can't even trust a monk, so who can we trust?

Money Not Enough 3 - Temasek Holdings?

Is this a sign that Temasek Holding is reading running low on cash? After losing billions investing in the US banks, I wonder who will have the confidence in their investment plans. Well definitely not when a maneater is holding court...

吓到笑, Where Got Ghost Trailer

Jack Neo is at it again in promoting his latest project and to switch your mobile to silent mode when at the movies.

Here's the actual trailer. ROFL when I saw the "Ah Hui ah, Li Jia Bao Buay" scene.

Return of the Queen

She`ll only come out at night, the lean and hungry type
Nothing is new I`ve seen her here before…Watching and waiting
Ooh, she`s sitting with you but her eyes are on the door
So many have paid to see what you think you`re getting for free
The woman is wild, a she-cat tamed by the purr of a jaguar
Money`s the matter, if you`re in it for love, you ain`t gonna get too far

(Oh oh, here she comes) watch out boy, she`ll chew you up
(Oh oh, here she comes) she`s a maneater
(Oh oh, here she comes) watch out boy, she`ll chew you up
(Oh oh, here she comes) she`s a maneater

The above song by Hall & Oates is the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the news that Ho Chin will not be stepping down. The excuse they gave is that "Chip" Goodyear views are different from Temasek Holdings.

If that is the case, why did they want to hire him in the first place? Are they saying that they did not ask him his views on how he will manage the billions of Singapore funds during the interview? Or is this all a cover up as there are no good posts in Singapore for the PM's wife and she is too powerful to remain as a housewife?

So, does this mean the buying high and selling low trend is back at Temasek Holdings?

Cycling @ Pulua Ubin

Angie and I went to Puala Ubin on Sunday two weeks ago. Since this is my first visit to this island, I am filled with excitement and anticipation. We took a bus to Changi Village and have dim sum for breakfast at one of the coffee shops in Changi Village.

From 2009-06-06 Pulau Ubin

After breakfast, we proceed to take a ferry at Changi Terminal. Gosh, we are surprised at the number of people queuing for the ferry. Ferries arrivals are quite frequent so the waiting time is quite short.

From 2009-06-06 Pulau Ubin

Each ferry can take up to 12 people and cost $2.50 single trip per pax. The ferry trip itself takes around 15 - 20 mins. The weather is nice and cloudy that day with cool sea breeze blowing as the ferry move towards Puala Ubin

From 2009-06-06 Pulau Ubin

When we arrived at the island, the place is bursting with activities. The streets next to the jetty are filled with bicycle rental shops. Most of the bicycles are quite new and comes with gear change. We rented a two person bicycle ($14 whole day!) and proceed to cycle around to enjoy the nature breeze. It is a good trip to break away from the hectic Singapore life.

From 2009-06-06 Pulau Ubin

Some areas have steep slopes that even at first gear, we have problem riding up the slope. In the end, we have to dismount and push our bicycle up.

From 2009-06-06 Pulau Ubin

Since it is the rambutan season, rambutans are spotted dangling from the trees everywhere on the island. Other than rambutans, we also saw durian trees. We came to a spot where there is a huge crowd gathered. Turns out everyone there are plucking rambutans to eat. There is this uncle who is using a home made pole to reach those really bright red rembutans high up in the trees. He is also kind enough to borrow the pole to us to let us try our hands in getting the juicy fruit.

From 2009-06-06 Pulau Ubin

After getting frustrating in trying pluck the fruit down with the pole, I found a branch low enough for me to pull it down to get our hands full with a lot of rambutans. Though green in color, they taste just as sweet.

From 2009-06-06 Pulau Ubin

Fruits of Our Labour

We were caught in a light drizzle on our way back to the jetty area. We end up having our dinner at the First Stop Ubin restaurant. They serve really fresh live prawns but sadly I can't eat those.

From 2009-06-06 Pulau Ubin

After our dinner, we ride around for a while more before returning the bicycle. We just managed to board the ferry back to the mainland before a heavy downpour came. Heng ah! Well this is a relaxing outing. Both Angie and I really enjoy the fallback from the busy lifestyle. Will definitely come back again.

Robots and 80s Action Star

Managed to squeeze some time to watch some movies over the past two weeks, with the help from the fast forward button. One of them is Transformer 2: Rise of the Fallen and the other is Death Wish series by Charles Bronson. Ok, I heard people say Charles who? He is an 80's action star; I will explain more of that later.

Let talk about Transformers 2 first. After all the big explosion and fancy action sequence shown on its trailer, I find the movie itself quite disappointing. The plot seems like hastily written and many of the characters or robots in this case seems to be there for cameo purpose. In fact, there are so many robots fighting for screen space that the monstrous Devestator in the cartoon series is reduced to being a gigantic vacuum cleaner. And the two Autobots twins are damn irritating. Can some Decepticons just blast them and their creators off the show? In summary, I only like three scenes in the entire movie
1. Optimus Prime taking on three Decepticons, including Megatron. Cool!
2. Optimus Prime clean house after getting an upgrade from Jetfire. Awesome!
3. Megan Fox running in the desert sands. Woohoo!

Run Megan Run!

For Charles Bronson, he is a famous 80s action star. I grew up watching his movies. The Death wish movie series is one of his more famous works. More details of this late actor can be found here. As to why I pick up his movie, it is started by my father. Death Wish 2 is showing on cable TV but the timing overlapped his karaoke session. So he ask if I can record the movie for him, which I get my friend, Google, to find all the 5 movies in the series for me.

Watching the movies bring back the memories. The supposingly hardcore action sequence then looks funny compared to those found in the movies these days. It really shows how movies have evolved over the years. As movie audience starts to mature, demands for action sequence and scenes to be more realistic is getting higher and higher.

High Tech Cleaner

Send my faulty graphic card for repair the other day since it is still under warranty. The shop is promoting this high tech cleaning gel by showing the video below. I was bought by the commercial and bought one to try it. So far it works quite well, really able to clean those small hard to reach areas. Furthermore, it leaves a nice lemon smell. The wonder of this gel causes me to search around the house looking for difficult to clean areas and try out my newfound cleaning tool. Kekeke

Think Before You Put That In Your Mouth

The new crackdown in rules on consumption of food and drink on the MRT although is a good move, the way the rules are enforce are a bit too far. Giving people fines for drinking plain water or even eating sweats shows that the authorities have no empathy for welfare of the passengers.

Does that mean we, as paying customers can't even enjoy simple things like quenching our thirst? So we have to endure our thirst or have a sweet to overcome the smelly BO from the guy sitting beside for the entire duration of our ride? So it's ok to vomit in the train because you can't eat a sweet to curb your giddiness while taking a train?

What if a tourist is caught drinking water on the train? Will they be fined or let off since nobody inform them that such acts is probated? Then this constitute to double standards, isn't it?

If the MRT is so eager to improve the ride experience, they should, as chillycraps said, fine those pole leaner, ah bengs who play loud music on their mobile and those sitting in reserved seats as well. In the meanwhile, remember to get off the train when you want to take a sip of water, else you will be drinking an expensive drink.

Milking the Dead Man Dry

Ever since Michael Jackson sudden death, the world suddenly went into a Michael Jackson fever. Every 10 mins, his name or music will pop up somewhere, be it in the papers, on TV or the radio. Even the music in shopping centers are playing his songs. -_-"

Everyone seems to suddenly become the MJ fan. When this guy is alive, nobody even bother to find out what's going on with him. Some even ridicule his weird behavior. Suddenly, after the news of his passing, everyone starting to buy his albums or praise how great a person he is. Just look at all those comments on every MJ youtube videos. Yeah right.... I find them all hypocrite.

Look at all the media coverage on his funeral. Every minor details is being shown. Do you really think they are giving the man respect? They are just riding the MJ wave, luring the sudden converted MJ fans into getting their products along with the sounds of the cash register. KA-CHING! Did they gave the same coverage to Farrah Fawcett who passed away on the same day as the King of Pop? None. Why? The money isn't there!

Like my mum used to say for this artistes, only in death will you be recognized and where your work will become valuable. This hold so true and sad for MJ that even in death, he is still being milked with no rest in peace

Magical Number: 6352

Watch for this space.... Hehehehe ^_^