A private-hire vehicle (PHV) driver in Singapore complained that he spent S$150 to clean the mess after a passenger vomited in his vehicle.
However, his ride-hailing platform allegedly refused to foot the cleaning fee, he told Shin Min Daily News.
Source: Art Markiv on Unsplash. Photo for illustration purposes only.
The incident took place at about 2am on 3 Aug, said the 50-year-old PHV driver named only as Mr Wang (transliterated from Mandarin).
He picked up a male passenger from the Marina Bay Sands and was to take him to a condominium near Pasir Ris Mall.
But within five minutes of boarding his vehicle, the man started vomiting, causing him to endure the smell for the whole journey.
Mr Wang said he always keeps plastic bags in his vehicle as he encounters drunk passengers from time to time.
In this case, he passed three plastic bags to the man when he noticed that he was about to vomit.
However, the passenger still vomited in the vehicle’s interior.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
After the passenger alighted, he left his phone in the car.
Mr Wang had to go back to where he had dropped him off to return it to him.
He then charged the man an additional S$30 via the platform, which he agreed to pay.
Mr Wang subsequently sent his vehicle to a petrol station for cleaning, which cost him S$150.
As is the procedure, he took photos and sent them to the platform.
This time, however, the platform allegedly refused to compensate him for the cleaning.
The platform reportedly said that it would only facilitate communication between him and the passenger.
However, Mr Wang pointed out that a similar vomiting incident happened a few months ago.
And in that instance, the platform reimbursed him S$120 when he sent a photo of that incident.
He felt that not compensating him was “unfair to drivers” as the platform charges steep fees.
He also pointed out that he had spent about three hours dealing with the matter, resulting in a loss of income of S$100 to S$150.
While Mr Wang’s platform was not named, at least some ride-hailing platforms in Singapore do reimburse drivers for their cleaning fees.
According to Grab’s help portal, drivers may claim up to S$120 in cleaning expense claims when passengers leave vomit in their vehicle.
Gojek will cover up to S$50 of cleaning costs if passengers make a mess in vehicles, said its handbook for driver-partners.
Tada’s community guidelines say that drivers can be paid up to S$70 when stains or odours are left in the car that require professional cleaning to remove, including those due to vomiting.
In these cases, cleaning receipts must be submitted, along with other information, in order to make claims.
Also read: Woman vomits & urinates in private hire car in Thailand, offers only S$40 compensation
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Art Markiv on Unsplash. Photo for illustration purposes only.