On Wednesday, September 26, ride-hailing company Grab announced that car-pooling services during late-night hours in Singapore will come to an end, due to numerous complaints from drivers about drunk and argumentative passengers.
GrabHitch services from 1am to 5am will end by September 30. Too many drivers have told stories of vomiting and drunk, argumentative passengers. With GrabHitch, drivers offer carpooling passengers going in the same direction a ride, for lower fees than regular rides.
However, Grab’s other services will still be available during this time.
The company issued a statement saying, “Grab has always taken a proactive approach to ensure that our driver-partners and passengers will have a safe and positive driving/riding experience.”
Incidents of violence to both drivers and passengers have left people wondering about their safety with several ride-hailing companies in Asia. The biggest news erupted when a 20-year-old Chinese woman was killed by her Didi driver last month.
This is the second time such as occurrence happened in a span of a few months.
Didi Chuxing is China’s most popular ride-sharing company, which implemented safety measures after the murder last month.
However, commuters are not convinced that safety is the number one reason why Grab suspended GrabHitch in the early morning hours, since the company’s decision came just one day after the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore imposed a S$ 6.4 million fine for its “anti-competitive” merger with Uber.
Bank manager Anita Lo said, “They just want us to use their more expensive JustGrab service.”
But commuters who wish to save money and don’t want to take the bus can take comfort in knowing that local ride-hailing company, Ryde, still offers its services during these hours.
It appears that Grab’s loss might just be Ryde’s gain.