Hello to those who are planning to engage a driver in Taiwan,
Do note that I am not trying to help my driver to do any form of advertising / selling as I genuinely want fellow travellers to enjoy their trips.
I had just came back from Taiwan recently and have a pleasant experience with my driver. I guess what differentiates him from other drivers is really his excellent customer service. As a general thumb of rule, drivers usually quote you an amount for 8 hours a day. Any additional hours will be charged by hourly basis. Previously while on exchange in Taiwan, I was charged for additional hours as we just engaged the drivers randomly after we reached Taichung. (Please be warned that there may be lots of drivers trying to psycho you to engage their services and usually they are not really that good in terms of their services.)
What is so good about this driver which I had recently engaged (In fact i engaged him for 2 times. 1 in June 2013 and 1 in End july 2013)?
1) He doesn't charge you for additional hours (But of cos you don't purposely exceed the time and take advantage of him la! haha)
2) Hotel bookings will be done by him which are usually cheaper than the deals on agoda and other hotel online booking websites. The plus point is that THERE IS NO NEED TO PAY ANY DEPOSITS OR FULL PAYMENT for hotel accomodation!
3) Friendly and helpful driver who brings his DSLR around, helping you to take pictures. (SERIOUSLY, this can lighten you luggage as all of you know lugging a tripod along can really be an hassle.) THE BEST PART IS he will give a FREE THUMBDRIVE with the pictures he have taken! WHERE CAN YOU FIND SUCH A DRIVER?!
4) No hard selling at all
5) If you are going in a big group, most likely you will get a super huge new car where there is no need to squeeze in the bigger tw yellow cab. Pictures are attached. Oh ya, there are free wifi in the car too! Anyway, this driver cleans his car quite often so I feel that i'm actually sitting in a brand new car. Apparently, he also bought accident insurance to safeguard every passenger.
(Sorry people, can't seem to upload the pictures as they are way too big so I had included the link above)
6) His superb driving skills (This is definitely a plus point for people who have motion sickness like me)
7) Having a headache planning your itinerary? He can help you all plan your itinerary once you have given your confirmation to engage him.
8) Previously, he don't require customers to pay an upfront deposit but i guess after a few bad incidents (like kena fly aeroplane at the last minute or upon reaching airport to fetch customers), he requires all to pay a 1% deposit.. (Not too sure about the rate but you all can try asking him.) Payment is done via paypal.
I will place his contact here for easy reference. He can be reached at the following:
Name: 劉奕銘 (In case some of you do not know how to read chinese, its Liu Yi Ming)
Whatsapp: +886-981-900316
Line: 0981900316
Enjoy your trips people! Lastly, I have to say that the price may be a little more expensive as compared to those that you engaged on the spot at the airport or those who approached you. I feel that safety is still the utmost importance when travelling overseas. I'm sure you guys will definitely have a peace of mind if you engage him