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Cab
drivers are familiar with the confusing street names, but even they have an electronic aid
called the Cablink or Cabline. This
enables a passenger to call for a cab on the phone by giving his
location and time he wants the cab.
The cab company's computer will then locate an available cab.
The request shows up on a monitor mounted on the cab's dashboard.
When the cab driver confirms his availability, the passenger is
given a confirmation and the cab's plate number.
All this in less than a minute.
And the cab shows up promptly, to the minute also. Spanning
most major roads are arches that are actually not pedestrian flyovers. Rather,
they’re part of the Electronic Road Pricing that charges a specific
amount whenever you pass through one of those arches.
You might get there faster by passing ERP roads, but it's going
to cost more. Singaporeans,
including cabbies, seem not to mind paying the ERP, and it's but
invisible to them already. (Norway
has a more advanced system in the planning stage, which will monitor
your car's location using the GSM module on your phone and charge you
accordingly.) Singapore
is actually a city-driving paradise, with smooth traffic and virtually
hazard- and crime-free. However,
you would want to stretch the legs of that IS200 every so often,
wouldn't you? So have we discovered driving paradise? Neither one qualifies, actually. But you can certainly feast on your eyes on the traffic in Singapore. |
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