Women driving taxis might not be a novelty in any way, but a woman driving the night shift is still quite a rarity in Singapore.

That is, according to Liu Aihui (刘爱慧), a taxi driver who takes the night shift.

Liu, who's also a single mother to a 3-year-old son, used to work in retail, but was convinced by her brother to try becoming a driver.

While she told Shin Min Daily News (SMDN) that things are becoming a bit smoother, and that she is "slowly enjoying her job" more.

Things weren't always this smooth before.

According to SMDN, Liu had married her boyfriend of 5 years in 2012, but divorced him in less than a year, as her now ex-husband began showing interest in another woman.

In fact, it was her ex-husband's parting words implying that everything she owned had been bought by him that pushed her to become independent.

Pick-up places

Despite driving a cab for less than a year, Liu has already picked up some do's and dont's.

Do try to pick up customers at the airport. Despite encountering some issues with the staff, she considers this quite a viable option.

Don't pick up customers from the nightclub areas unless absolutely necessary.

Her reason for that being her fear of drunk passengers who display excessive rowdiness.

And that fear is absolutely warranted, considering some of her experiences, especially one along Tanjong Pagar.

She recounts how a group of foreigners had entered her car in a state of inebriation.

Not only did one of them start smoking in the front seat, one man in the back seat even asked if he could touch her if he gave her money.

Liu revealed that she was "worried that excessive resistance would be dangerous".

Weekends

According to SMDN, as she is charged a taxi rental fee every day, Liu works seven days a week.

Because of that weekends are the only time she can spend with her 3-year-old son.

Liu is thankful for the support by her brother and mother who helps take care of her son on the week days. She hopes that one day, when she earns a steadier income, she can finally spend more time with her son.

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H/T: Lianhe Zaobao/SMDN

Images adapted from Flickr