Samantha Tse's strictures about taxi drivers (letter headlined, 'Passengers ripped off', South China Morning Post, March 28) spur me to impart recent observations of my own, and of friendly tourists - on the poor old drivers, whipping boys from way back. I have personally not had a problem over the 15 years I have spent in Hong Kong, and have had many interesting Chinglish chats with drivers. Lately, there has been a notable improvement in their willingness to try some English, their enthusiasm for working out where it is the poor gweipo actually wants to go, and for helping tourists with their luggage. Friends have told me they had taxi drivers who could not have been more helpful. The propaganda to be nice to tourists is obviously having some effect. I have always tipped taxi drivers, and if they are short of change and keep the odd 50 cents that surely cannot be a major issue. Perhaps they could give passengers chewing gum instead, like 7-Eleven stores? PAM BAKER Kowloon