YOU can call it the cabby's version of Russian Roulette or, as the cabbies call it, the 'airport game'.

In this gamble, taxi drivers spend anything between 15 minutes to two hours queueing at Changi Airport, hoping to land a good fare.

The winners are the ones who get passengers going to 'faraway' destinations such as the city, Choa Chu Kang or Jurong.

Such trips earn them fares of $15 to $25 - more if the midnight surcharge kicks in.

The losers are the ones who get residents living in nearby estates such as Pasir Ris and Tampines.

And cabbies, who make about $10 to $12 for such short trips, including airport surcharge, are sometimes known to show their unhappiness by being rude or unhelpful to the passengers.

Tampines resident Kuah Hoe Wei recently wrote to The Straits Times online forum to express his unhappiness over such behaviour.

'The cabby made a choice to wait at the airport for passengers. Even if I dropped off 100m away, he would still pick up the airport surcharge of $3-$5. I would like to appeal to the cabbies who complain about smaller fares. I've just got off a plane, I'm tired, and I want to go home. Don't take it out on me just because I live near the airport,' he wrote.

What's worrying is that such cases are seemingly not uncommon.

A random poll of 100 people who live in the east - in estates such as Bedok, Tampines, Pasir Ris, Simei and Loyang - shows that at least one in five have had bad encounters with taxi drivers at the airport.

In the more extreme cases, some of these drivers even risk fines and demerit points under their vocational licence points system, and refuse to pick up passengers who live near the airport.

Tampines resident Ferhana Ashiblie, 30, a general manager, recently met one such cabby.

TOLD OFF BY CABBY

She said: 'When he heard that I lived so near, he just gestured for the next passenger behind me to board instead.' The driver then rudely told her to take the next taxi.

Pasir Ris resident Susan Mah, 33, an engineer, once had a taxi driver tell her that what he was earning from her was 'very cheap' and so did not help her with her luggage.

Even some cabbies think lowly of such behaviour.

Mr Jeffrey Heng, 41, a taxi driver, said: 'If you want to go to the airport and queue, you have to be prepared to get a short journey. If people want to gamble, they must be prepared to win or lose.'

Despite such grouses, few passengers have lodged formal complaints against the cabbies.

Ms Naleeza Ebrahim, spokesman for Land Transport Authority, said that it has received nine complaints this year against taxi drivers who refused to pick passengers at the airport.

ComfortDelGro, which runs Comfort, CityCab and Yellowtop Taxis, said that it received fewer than 10 complaints of rude cabbies this year, but none for refusals.

WON'T TOLERATE BEHAVIOUR

Its spokesman, Ms Tammy Tan, said that the company does not tolerate such behaviour, and will not hesitate to take action against errant cabbies.

Some cabbies however, said it can be frustrating to do short distances, especially after a long wait.

Mr Heng said he once had two teenage girls hop into his taxi at Terminal Two to go to Terminal One. He remembers the exact fare: $9.15, including the airport and midnight surcharges. He had waited from 12am to 2am, and did not want to rejoin the queue as he had to change shift.

Taxi drivers usually wait about 30 to 45 minutes to pick up a passenger at the airport, but this depends on flight schedules, road traffic, and whether tourists have other means of transport.

Some suggest a separate queue for residents who live in the east, which may benefit cabbies about to end their shifts.

Others suggest imposing a minimum fare for all trips from the airport, or increasing the airport surcharge.

But Mr Goi Siew Boon, 44, a taxi driver, has learnt to look at short trips positively. He said: 'When I hear Tampines, I'm very happy because I can go back to the airport again.

'And usually, I get a tip, say, a dollar or two.'