Singapore's taxis ranked best in the world by Singaporeans

Singapore's taxis ranked best in the world by Singaporeans

Singapore's taxis have been ranked the best in the world, according to the Hotels.com's annual global taxi survey.

Citizens have ranked Singapore's taxis above other Asian, American and European cities, following a range of criteria.

Cleanliness was the top scoring factor for Singapore's taxis, with 51 per cent of respondents ranking Singapore's taxis top for cleanliness, followed by 49 per cent ranking them highly for safety, then friendliness (24%), knowledge of the area (21%), quality of driving (21%) and availability (21%).

This ranking comes despite complains by passengers, which include failing to get a taxi via the booking hotline or app, taxi drivers unfamiliar with routes, and taxi drivers turning down passengers for various reasons.

According to the annual global taxi survey by Hotels.com, Singapore's taxis are ranked eighth in the world, alongside Bangkok and Bogota.

Coming in first place are London's taxis, with 22 per cent of the votes from 2,683 respondents across 30 countries. London's taxis were also voted the best in terms of cleanliness (23%), knowledge (27%), quality (30%), friendliness (23%), and safety (27%).

The global results of the taxi survey also shows that 61 per cent of Singaporeans selected the taxi as their preferred mode of transport and that they spend an average of S$50 to S$100 per month on taxi fares.

The most popular backseat activity amongst Singaporeans was found to be texting, with 91 per cent of respondents citing that as the activity they spend the most time on in the taxi.

This is followed by touching up their make-up or hair (58%), as well as catching up on sleep (88%). Some even admitted to getting intimate with their partners in the backseat (17%).

The survey was not only restricted to Singaporean passengers, as Singapore taxi drivers were also quizzed on their driving experiences. More than half of the taxi drivers preferred making trips to the airport, followed by shopping districts and the city centre.

They also revealed that American tourists are known to be the best tippers, even though the Japanese are their favourite nationality to transport.

dewinbms@sph.com.sg

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