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Singapore Taxi Scam


Bruin Steve
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So...We were getting off the Celebrity Millennium in Singapore early yesterday morning.  We were one of the first off and in a hurry as we had a 10:00 am flight out of Changi Airport.

We get our luggage, make it through Customs...and, as we are just through Customs, a man approaches us and asks if we need a taxi.  My wife says yes...and, before I can say anything, the man grabs my wife's suitcase...and starts leading us toward an elevator saying "No taxis down there, you have to go upstairs"...We get upstairs and there is a line of white vans--maybe 8 or 10 of them...with the rear left gates open... he puts my wife's suitcase in the back of one, grabs mine, puts it in...and opens the door for my wife...So, we get in the car...and the driver takes off...

 

I start looking around...and I see some liquor bottles...but no taxi meter...

 

I ask the driver "How much for the ride to the airport?" 

He says "$120"...

I say "This is not a taxi, is it?  Take us back to the cruise terminal immediately...or I will call the police".  Luckily, we hadn't gone far...The guy drives us back to the terminal...and let's us out...There's a long line of taxis on that downstairs floor...We get in one...and, twenty minutes later, we are at the airport...The charge?  $20.80 in Singapore dollars...

 

The moral:  Be very, very wary...

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Thanks for the warning.     Glad you spoke up.   Something like that happened to us in Southampton.  But he lead us to a white van a block away and left on foot.   15 minutes later, another couple come and the guy takes off again.  I finally said "i think he is trying to fill the van up" and I asked if the other people were ever given a price - no.  I said "lets get our luggage and walk back to the terminal.     I have learned that you need to get in a line for a taxi and I will never agree to go with someone who walks up to us. 

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Happens all over the world! I've had offers in Mexico, Florida, and Vegas.. In Vegas the second question the taxi driver asks is "have you been here before?" If you say no, you will be taken for a ride! In Florida he quotes you one price and halfway to the airport he trys to collect twice the amount!  Traveler beware!

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Lesson learned by you.....Always head for the legitimate taxi stand...especially in Asia. I've avoided these guys many times when I fly into PVG and feel sorry for those I see going with them.

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Another taxi scam is operated at Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore with disembarking passengers.

After clearing customs a taxi line forms & you find it is for white limo taxis with fixed prices to hotels & Changi.

Bypass them to left - cross service road & continue straight ahead past buses to the normal Singapore taxi stand. 

Quoted S$60 to my hotel - paid S$17 in standard metered taxi.

 

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Same thing happened to our friends in Rome.  Guy walked up to them at luggage area grabbed her case and took them to his van.   Even worse is that when he dropped them at their destination which was a convent he took their luggage out of the van, put it on the sidewalk and drove off.  It was at that point they realised a back pack was missing.   Never to be seen again but at least the backpack only had dirty washing and other boring items compared to the camera/laptop etc that could have been in it.

 

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Taxi scams!  Terrible.  That's why it pays to do some research and surf these boards.

 

Some years back, I purposely went to Marina Bay Cruise Center to make a video to help cruise passengers who haven't been to Singapore before.  Here it is again. When you disembark, you arrive at the Arrivals Hall.  Follow the signs to Taxi.  It is about a 3 to 5 minute walk to the taxi stands.  Legal taxis are all metered in Singapore and they have to go by the meter, by law. 

 

 

I made the above video in 2015, but I haven't been back to the cruise center since.  If things have changed, let me know! 

Edited by Iluvcruising2
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The early part of your video is no longer correct.  The only taxis at the exit door area are the fixed price White Limo taxis with fixed prices up to 3 times a regular metered taxi.  To get to the regular Singapore taxis - walk past the bus / coach park & there is a controled rank for metered taxis. 

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We are 2 people with 2 large (32 inch) suitcases and a small carry on. Doesnt look like they would fit ito those small trunks. Do they have any minivans? We will want to go to the Hilton Garden Inn.  Or is it better to hire private transport?

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4 hours ago, Mrs f. said:

We are 2 people with 2 large (32 inch) suitcases and a small carry on. Doesnt look like they would fit ito those small trunks. Do they have any minivans? We will want to go to the Hilton Garden Inn.  Or is it better to hire private transport?

The taxis are about the size of a Toyota Corolla and  we do something like this with 3 suitcases and one tween in China & HK.

 

One suitcase can go in the trunk, the other can ride shotgun with the driver.   Or one of you ride shotgun with the driver and the other in the backseat with the suitcase.

 

 

Edited by Philob
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On 1/11/2019 at 4:27 AM, Iluvcruising2 said:

Taxi scams!  Terrible.  That's why it pays to do some research and surf these boards.

 

Some years back, I purposely went to Marina Bay Cruise Center to make a video to help cruise passengers who haven't been to Singapore before.  Here it is again. When you disembark, you arrive at the Arrivals Hall.  Follow the signs to Taxi.  It is about a 3 to 5 minute walk to the taxi stands.  Legal taxis are all metered in Singapore and they have to go by the meter, by law. 

 

 

I made the above video in 2015, but I haven't been back to the cruise center since.  If things have changed, let me know! 

Hi, would you mind if I asked you what you think about having a 10:30am flight out of Singapore on a Friday? we would be arriving on the Crystal Symphony and the flight would be to Doha on Qatar?

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20 hours ago, SeaDog-46 said:

The early part of your video is no longer correct.  The only taxis at the exit door area are the fixed price White Limo taxis with fixed prices up to 3 times a regular metered taxi.  To get to the regular Singapore taxis - walk past the bus / coach park & there is a controled rank for metered taxis. 

 

Thanks. Looks like I should go back to make an updated video. 

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On 1/13/2019 at 1:14 PM, SeaDog-46 said:

The early part of your video is no longer correct.  The only taxis at the exit door area are the fixed price White Limo taxis with fixed prices up to 3 times a regular metered taxi.  To get to the regular Singapore taxis - walk past the bus / coach park & there is a controled rank for metered taxis. 

Yes you are right. We had taken the Limo cabs a few times returning from the Cruise to home and instead of taking 2 cabs for 6 paxs we paid a flat rate fare. In this case taking the Limo cab was cheaper for us. If your Hotel in in Town or resident is not far from the Cruise Center, then it's better to take the Taxi by walking further down and join the queue.

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On 1/13/2019 at 5:55 PM, Iluvcruising2 said:

 

What time is the ship scheduled to arrive?

I went ahead and booked the same flight but for the next day, don't want to be rushing even though I really need to get back home after the cruise 🙂

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On 1/8/2019 at 10:13 PM, SeaDog-46 said:

Another taxi scam is operated at Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore with disembarking passengers.

After clearing customs a taxi line forms & you find it is for white limo taxis with fixed prices to hotels & Changi.

Bypass them to left - cross service road & continue straight ahead past buses to the normal Singapore taxi stand. 

Quoted S$60 to my hotel - paid S$17 in standard metered taxi.

 

Exactly what we did last December at Marina Bay. Bypass the limo taxi line and walked to the regular taxi stand further up. The staff there hailed a van for the four of us plus our luggage, using standard meter for our ride to the hotel. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/14/2019 at 1:55 AM, Iluvcruising2 said:

 

What time is the ship scheduled to arrive?

Hi, please can you advise we arrive in Singapore the day before we disembark it’s celebrity millennium do you know if we would be able to get a 9-30am flight. I don’t know what time the security staff start, thanks Janice 

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It is not a taxi scam it is a transportation scam. The real taxis are not at the door when you exit you need to walk to them. The taxis do not like or approve of these Limos & fixed price operators, but hey cannot stop them.  You could do this thread for almost anywhere in the World.  As travelers we need to keep control and not allow others to control us.  By the way having traveled and lived in SE Asia for 20 years, Singapore has the least amount of scams of any place in the area.

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On 1/6/2019 at 9:02 PM, Bruin Steve said:

We get our luggage, make it through Customs...and, as we are just through Customs, a man approaches us and asks if we need a taxi.  My wife says yes ...

 

5 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

It is not a taxi scam it is a transportation scam. ... You could do this thread for almost anywhere in the World.

 

And it's not a Singapore scam. It's a classic airport scam, although it's no surprise to see it being pulled off at a cruise terminal, which has much the same characteristics. It's why airports all over the world warn you never to accept an offer of transport from someone who approaches you in the terminal.

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When we disembarked in Singapore in January, we avoided one of those people in the terminal - quoted $60 for 5 of us - I was tempted but hubby saw through it.....

We walked out to the taxi lines to see a split line - left was for large limo/van taxis and right was for regular taxis.

We had 5 people, 7 suitcases, carryons and a folding wheelchair. 

We opted for 2 regular taxis which were $20 each to our hotel in Orchard Rd. The large van one would have cost us $60 - and we would have waited 30 minutes or so......

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