The humans don’t have a car so bringing me around means taking a taxi. We have heard some people complain that taking a taxi with their dogs is tough and sometimes even stressful!
We are lucky that so far our experience has not been bad, and most taxis would take us without any major problems.
However, just last weekend, we had two taxis reject us, causing us to be late for an appointment. We then truly understood what those pet owners meant.
Through our own experience and also listening to the common concerns of our taxi drivers, we came up ways to make your taxi experience with fido easier.
1. Try a few taxi businesses
When Uber and Grab weren’t in Singapore yet, the humans only had public taxis as their only choice.
Now that we have private taxi booking apps, taking a taxi with me became easier. We find that Uber and Grab drivers are generally more polite and friendlier than our standard taxi drivers.
They also tend to be younger and more tolerant of dogs in their cars. We even had Malay drivers who didn’t mind picking us up!
If private taxi booking still proves to be a problem for you, then there are always dedicated pet taxi companies!
Although they are significantly pricier than regular taxis and ideally pre-booked, they are truly pet-friendly rides. Also, pet owners with more than one dog or large dogs may find them extremely useful.
Here are some to check out:
- Bambi & Coco – starts from S$50 per trip
- Fourkids Family Pet Taxi – starts from S$25 per trip
- Petzzie – starts from S$30 per trip
- Uncle Loo Happy Dog Taxi – starts from S$40 per trip
- PetMate – on-demand booking app, starts from S$28 per trip
Do note that most pet taxis charge for waiting time or have surcharges for certain timings. Also, some pet taxis are cars while others are vans. So, do ask questions or give several a try to see what works best for you.
2. Call the driver
If you are using regular taxi booking apps, always call the driver upon booking confirmation.
Even if you have written in the comment box that you have a dog, they wouldn’t see it until they have accepted the booking. Some may even miss the comment entirely.
Hence, it’s always safer to give them a call to make sure that there are no issues. This also means that you have to buffer more travel time, just in case the driver rejects you and you have to make a new booking.
3. Keep your dog in a carrier
Most drivers will accept dogs in carriers or crates. If you don’t want to use one, at least wrap your dog in a towel to make them more likely to accept your booking.
If you have a big dog, put her on the car floor and keep her head away from the sticking through to the front seats. This is especially so if you get a Malay driver.
Drivers’ top concerns:
- pet fur or hair flying around in their car
- pee or poo accidents
- drool on the window or any other part of the car
As a considerate passenger, try to give drivers peace of mind by making your best effort to prevent those potential problems.
4. Leave a good review
If you were driven by a wonderful driver, do give them a good review if possible. This will encourage them to continue being accepting of dogs!
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Photo credit: Adventures with my dogs via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
