Instead, the easy-going veteran cabby prefers to take everything in his stride.
He told The New Paper: “To tell you the truth, the bad overrides the good most of the time (in this industry). Perhaps it is my nature to forget them and not take them to heart.
“The day is still long, tomorrow will be a better day. So as far as possible, I try to make it easier on myself so that the job is less stressful.
“We give and take, we cannot take things too hard to survive in this world.”
So how does he deal with difficult passengers or bad days?
Mr Gan takes coffee breaks, sometimes with his ‘kakis’ to recharge. TNP PHOTO: Noor Ashikin Abdul Rahman
“If I can sense that the passengers are (up to no good) and purposely making me drive all around the island, I will advise them to split cabs as that is more cost-effective for them. Usually, I’m pretty successful,” he said.
And if passengers end up evading the fare, he let it slide.
“If it’s only $10 or $20 then it’s not a big bomb. Is it worth making you so unhappy? Forget it,” said Mr Gan, who drives a Trans-Cab taxi.
Mr Gan, who does the early shift, became a taxi driver in 1990 after his renovation business failed.
The sole breadwinner and father of three grown children has been with multiple taxi companies over the years, including Comfort and CityCab.
On weekdays, he usually starts at about 6.30am and ends at 5.30pm.
Mr Gan with some of his fellow cabby buddies at lunch. TNP PHOTO: NOOR ASHIKIN ABDUL RAHMAN
He might be in his 60s and has been in the trade for far longer than his younger counterparts but he is far from “jaded”.
Eager to learn and improve himself, Mr Gan signed up as a driver-partner with ride-hailing service GrabCar in 2013.
He had initial reservations about the service but was eager to try it out for himself.
He admitted that many of his friends – both taxi drivers and non-taxi drivers alike – constantly debated the pros and cons of ride-hailing services like GrabCar.
“There was even quarrelling among ourselves, with some saying that it was stealing their rice bowl. I told them, ‘If you can’t beat them, join them. Why not?” he said.
According to Mr Gan, he has enjoyed a 15 per cent increase in income since joining GrabCar.
Before this, he earned anything from $20 to $100 daily.
But a steady income is little comfort for some of his cabby friends within his age group.
“Some of them are not willing to learn, some are also stubborn. But I always tell them that is they are not willing to change or upgrade, they will become obsolete one day,” he said.
Source: www.tnp.sg
