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Ride, surf & print
This taxi offers use of laptop computer with Internet connection and printer - for free
December 28, 2008 Print Ready Email Article

FOR seven months, this Comfort taxi has been on Singapore roads with a service that not many know about.
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PRINT OUT: The printer in the back of the cab. TNP PICTURES: KUA CHEE SIONG

It offers passengers the use of a laptop to surf the Internet and a printer to churn out documents.

And the best part of this unusual service?

It's free, thanks to the taxi driver, Mr Mohamed Rafee.

Said the 47-year-old, who has been driving a cab for 15 years: 'I surf the Internet a lot and I read a lot of stuff online. So it struck me that I should provide this service for my passengers as well.'

Mr Rafee got the idea when he brought his own Fujitsu laptop into his cab one day, to surf the Net while waiting for passengers.

Then, some of his passengers noticed the laptop and started to ask Mr Rafee if they could use it, he said.

Soon, more and more people started asking.

Eventually, Mr Rafee decided to throw in a printer as part of his service.
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CONNECTED: Passengers can use the laptop without having to hold it.

The self-confessed techie believes that it benefits his passengers, especially tourists.

'Passengers who are going to the airport are often in such a rush that they forget to print their boarding passes. I reassure them and tell them they can still print it on board my taxi,' he said, with a laugh.

As for cost, Mr Rafee said: 'It's quite cheap to maintain, and doesn't affect my profit margin.'

Mr Rafee, who used to work at a tech company until he was retrenched in 1995, said he set everything up himself.

He has put up a sign offering the laptop and takes it out only when someone asks for it.

If the passengers prefer to have it hanging in front of them, perhaps to watch clips on YouTube, it can be hooked to the top of the taxi.

The printer is connected to the laptop wirelessly and both devices are powered by the car's battery.

And there's more.

Recently, Mr Rafee added a webcam to his collection of gadgets.

That too, is available to passengers upon request.

'I used to put my webcam on the dashboard,' Mr Rafee said. 'However, some passengers who entered my taxi would exclaim 'Woah! Why is there a camera?'

'So I decided to keep the camera away and put a sign up to tell passengers that it is available upon request.'

Other gadgets

There are also other useful gadgets stashed away in his car, including a USB thumbdrive and a mobile Nokia handphone charger.

Mr Rafee is also planning to add a universal charger to his collection.

Has anyone abused his service?

'Customers return my stuff and do the right thing. They don't do anything funny,' said Mr Rafee.

Undoubtedly, his passengers are impressed when they enter his cab.

Mr H N Murugan, 29, who works as a chief technical officer, said: 'This is a wonderful and valuable service. For a guy working in the IT industry, I often look around for technical support and I am delighted that Mr Rafee provides these services for passengers on board his cab.'

A regular passenger, Mr F H Francesco, who is in his 40s, said: 'I appreciate this service a lot. It is very creative and innovative. I hope other taxi drivers will follow his example.'

Another passenger, Mr K Jotheeswaran, 36, a flight attendant, has other reasons to prefer this taxi.

'I like Mr Rafee's friendly manner,' he said. 'He leaves a very good impression and is very willing to help the elderly get into and out of his taxi. His taxi is also very clean and tidy.'

So will other taxi drivers follow this example set by Mr Rafee?

Not everyone was enthusiastic.

One Comfort driver, a 52-year-old who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, said: 'These services are not practical. It is a complete waste of money. Anyway, Singapore is so small. How long will passengers be in my taxi?'

Another taxi driver, Mr Chin Chau How, 55, said: 'If the passengers want such a service, they will ask for it. If not, there is no point.'
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innovative or waste of time???