Stories of horrible Grab riders in S'pore as shared by Grab drivers

Don't be the Grab rider from hell.

Joshua Lee | April 12, 2018, 06:04 PM

Horror stories involving ghosts are aplenty.

Horror stories involving private hire car passengers in Singapore are increasingly becoming more common.

Coupled with the recent Uber-Grab merger, news of the private hire car industry has been popping up in your feeds faster than you can say "anti-competition".

Some passengers can sometimes make life difficult for drivers simply by not playing by the rules.

Below are stories we found from trawling Facebook groups where Uber and Grab drivers commiserate:

1. Riders who refuse to cancel

Don't be the passenger who wants to cancel a booking, but insists on the driver cancelling his trip instead so that you won't be penalised.

Grab drivers have to achieve a cancellation rate below a certain percentage in order to qualify for their much needed incentives. If not, they'll need to drive more to bring down their cancellation rate.

2. Riders who demand to be picked up/ dropped off at bus stops or taxi stands

It is illegal for drivers to pick up passengers at bus stops or taxi stands.

Only buses can stop at bus stops and only taxis can do pick-ups from taxi stands. Private hire car drivers who are caught picking up riders from these locations will be fined.

3. Riders with kids who book private cars

It is illegal for a private hire car driver to ferry children below 135cm without a child booster seat. Drivers caught ferrying children without a booster seat will get fined.

If you have a child (below 135cm tall) travelling with you, you should consider bringing your own booster seat or call for a GrabFamily car (which have these booster seats).

Don't book a normal GrabCar, expecting the driver to cancel it and get penalised because of your mistake (see #1).

Alternatively you can book a taxi. Taxis are not subjected to this constraint because apparently they're considered public service vehicles.

Yea, we don't understand that either. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[related_story]

4. Riders who bring the whole wide world on a GrabShare ride

GrabShare drivers can only pick up a maximum number of two passengers from each stop. That hasn't stopped riders from trying to squeeze in more than two riders each time.

Unfortunately, babies (those below 135cm) have to be included in the headcount because they have to be belted up into a booster seat (which effectively takes up one seat).

Also, if you don't have your own booster seat for your child, see #3.

5. Riders who don't pay

This is pretty self-explanatory.

Having read these horror stories, it's quite clear being a private hire car driver isn't easy.

With the (increasingly) frequent app downtimes, missed incentives, and long hours, your Grab driver shouldn't have to deal with these extra problems from riders.

Don't be the next Grab rider from hell.

All images from Facebook