Taxi drivers refuse to pick up passengers, leaving hotel porter in tears from guests' scoldings

Stomper Sylvia is frustrated that taxi drivers are able to pick and choose their passengers, leaving hotel porters to bear the brunt of the scoldings from other hotel guests.

The Stomper was at Fairmont Hotel for dinner on 10 Nov. She was trying to get a taxi to Ang Mo Kio.

However, each taxi that came refused to take her after giving an 'excuse' to the hotel porter.

She wrote:

"Passengers behind me, foreigners were also so angry and scolded the bell-hop. The bell-hop was in tears and I tried to defend him but to no avail."

In a telephone interview with Stomp, Sylvia elaborated, "Perhaps the bell hop shouldn't ask the taxi drivers where they wanted to go."

She also told Stomp that the hotel porter was scolded very badly by a guest in the queue last week because the taxi drivers refused to pick up passengers. 

According to the Stomper, the hotel porter told her that 'it feels like I don't know how to do my job'.

Sylvia later approached another taxi and the taxi driver rolled down his window to ask her where she was going.

According to the Stomper, the taxi driver declined as he said he was there to fetch some staff home. When he was questioned about the taxi sign which was lit up, he replied, "I turn it off now" and drove away.

She eventually used Grab to book a ride to Ang Mo Kio.

"I am very pissed off about the situation. One then wonder, why people are taking Grab and Uber more often than normal taxis."

"It was not just one driver's behaviour, but a whole string of them. Perhaps the authorities could go down and check this out for themselves," added the Stomper.