'Just report bro': Brazen passenger challenges private-hire driver after evading $25 fare

Upset that her father, a Tada driver, was cheated by a rider, a woman took to TikTok to blast the latter. 

In a video posted on May 21, TikTok user Tingtingagalia described how her father met a rider who absconded without paying the $25 ride fare from Woodlands to Ubi, and shared screenshots of their conversation on the Tada app. 

"This man told my father in the car that his PayNow isn't working and he didn't have enough cash. My father was kind enough to let him go up to get some money," the daughter shared. 

After waiting for quite some time, her father texted the rider via the app: "Hello bro, how long do you want me to wait?"

The rider then replied: "I PayNow you."

Her father then requested that the rider return to his car and pay in cash for the fare. This is because the passenger didn't have the driver's mobile number, so there was not way he could have made that PayNow transaction. 

After no responses from the rider, the father texted the rider again: "I want to report you if you don't come back".

Instead of coming down from his flat to pay for the fare, the rider boldly retorted:" Just report bro. I will handle Tada".

In her last screenshot, this driver's daughter shared a response that Tada gave after the driver reported the fare evasion.

"The passenger's account will be disabled until the payment for the trip has been made, " the Tada team wrote. 

Upset over her father's encounter, she wrote: "In this day and age, there are heartless and shameless people who refuse to pay for their trips."

Many online were equally disheartened over the incident and advised her to make a police report.

Responding to the comments, Tingtingagalia shared that she did make a police report but was informed that they won't be investigating the case as a report was already made to Tada and that necessary action will be taken against the rider.

Tingtingagalia then expressed her concerns over the way the situation was handled by Tada.

"I don't know how this fare evasion works, Is it the platform itself have to make the police report before the police can do the investigations or do i need to hire a lawyer?"

AsiaOne has reached out to Tingtingagalia and Tada for comment. 

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it investigated fewer cases of taxi and private hire car fare evasion each year from 2019 to 2021, reported The Straits Times last October. 

There were 96 cases of fare evasion investigated in 2021, compared to 104 in 2020, said Transport Minister S. Iswaran in a written Parliamentary reply then. 

There were 233, 269 and 164 cases in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

He said that LTA began to investigate fare evasion among private-hire cars only in 2020 when regulatory framework for such cases was introduced.

He added that drivers can report fare evasion incidents to their taxi or ride hailing companies, who will then try to recover the fares on behalf of their drivers.

Drivers can also call the police for assistance or drive passengers who refuse to pay to the nearest station, he added.

Those who evade fares can be fined up to $1,000. Repeat offenders can be jailed a maximum of six months and fined up to $2,000.

Iswaran said: "We take fare evasion cases for taxi and private-hire car (PHC) services seriously. Passengers who do not pay their fares affect the livelihoods of taxi and PHC drivers."

ALSO READ: 'She cursed me with all the idiotic words': Woman makes private-hire driver wait half hour for payment

ashwini.balan@asiaone.com

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