S'pore PHV driver takes issue with passenger boarding from 'wrong side’, allegedly shouts vulgarities

After booking a ride with Singapore private-hire vehicle platform Tada, a woman was allegedly berated by the driver for boarding on the "wrong side" of the vehicle.

When she decided not to proceed with the ride, the driver allegedly turned aggressive.

She alighted from the vehicle soon after, and the driver left — but later returned to try and get her to complete the ride.

The incident took place on Dec. 5 at Marine Parade to a Singapore content creator, who gave her name as Naps.

The creator, who also works as an account executive, posted about her ordeal on Instagram Stories and TikTok.

The conflict

Speaking with Mothership, Naps said that the conflict began when she boarded the private-hire vehicle in the morning to get to work.

While she'd simply chosen to board on the right side, which was closest to her, he began using an "aggressive tone" with her.

He took issue with her boarding on the side with less space, as this could have potentially scratched his car door since he was parked next to a pillar.

Hoping to de-escalate the situation, Naps joked that she was "quite skinny" and didn't need much space to board the vehicle, and clarified that the door had not touched the pillar.

But in response, the driver allegedly made comments about her size, and called her fat.

Shouted at her

Naps said that she was "a bit taken aback" but continued to try to lighten the mood, quipping that she was "only 45kg".

But the driver raised his voice in response. When she asked him to calm down, he apparently began "shouting at the top of his lungs", and reiterating that she should have boarded on the correct side.

"In that moment, I informed him that I would not be dealing with this attitude today and I'd rather take the MRT to work.

I told him to cancel the Tada ride, and I promptly exited the vehicle while he was waiting for the car gate to open."

She'd crossed the road and re-entered the estate via the car gate when he began "aggressively honking and shouting", Naps recalled.

She said she continued speaking to the driver as she was concerned the noise would disturb her neighbours, but he remained aggressive.

When her mother — who she'd speed-dialled earlier for help, and who had been watching the scene from the balcony — came down to confront him, he allegedly hurled profanities at the two women.

Naps subsequently called the police, and the driver left.

Came back to ask if she still wanted the ride

After about five minutes, during which Naps's mother was trying to calm her down, the driver suddenly returned to the street outside the estate.

This time, he began shouting at her to get into the car so he could drive her to her destination.

He also disembarked from the car and approached the two women, asking if she was coming.

In a video of the exchange, he can be heard saying "the job's still there" — to which Naps and her mother responded that he should just cancel the trip.

Naps' mother followed by asking: "You think after this, I will allow her to sit your car meh?"

She then called the police a second time. Once the driver heard that the police were on their way, he apparently drove away a second time — this time for good.

Naps ended up heading to the hospital, as she said that when the police arrived, they advised her to have any possible injuries checked out.

While she did not sustain any physical injuries, she now has doubts about whether she'll ride a car not driven by someone she knows.

She also updated on TikTok that the CCTV in her estate apparently wasn't working at the time of the incident.

The Singapore Police Force confirmed that investigations are ongoing.

Tada's response

On the same day, Naps filed a complaint with Tada.

In response, the team apologised and said it would "educate the driver on safer driving practices".

It also said it would monitor the driver's account and take corrective actions "as needed".

However, as she was not updated on whether or not he had been stopped from driving, Naps remained under the impression that the driver was still "out and about", she said.

She hence decided to warn her social media audience about her negative experience with the driver, and highlighting the length of time taken for Tada to respond to her.

In response to Mothership's queries, Tada said it was aware that the rider had made a police report.

"We empathise with the rider's situation and take her concerns seriously. We have initiated an investigation and are closely monitoring the situation," the spokesperson said, adding:

"The driver's account has been placed on hold while we assess the matter further."

Tada's spokesperson added that it would cooperate with police investigations fully.

Top image from Naps