Lady luck was smiling at me – there was a taxi just waiting inside the Singapore Press Holdings building compound and the driver in an animated conversation with a young man shaking hands through the drivers window. I was on my way to the airport after my speaking assignment in Singapore and I rushed to inquire if I could get the cab to drop me there. I peeked in and was surprised to see a pleasant middle aged women driver. At her enthusiastic affirmative response, I hopped into the clean, smart taxi and was soon on my way.

Lily, my friendly taxi driver

Lily was my friendly and talkative taxi driver. My first encounter with a female taxi driver in Singapore. She shared that she had just been returning an iphone to its owner who had left it in her taxi early that morning. A honest taxi driver who looked very pleased at her good deed. Wow!

I was very curious about her career choice to drive a cab. She shared her story of working as a Human Resources professional for 30 years and after retirement, over the last six months changing gears – oops, careers. It has been a result of many things such as her husband leaving her for a much younger Chinese woman and her grown up children moving to their independent lives. She now lives with her mother and sister and making it a point to have lunch with her mother and taking rain check during a heavy rainfall. Her primary motivation is to pay off her daily taxi rental, gas and make some money. An early start finds her trawling for passengers, one of 400 other female taxi drivers in Singapore.

If you are in Singapore and would like a reliable, honest taxi, call Lily at +65-82207397.