Cabs in queue reportedly reject passenger going to Sengkang
Gardens by the Bay might be blooming with flowers, but one man claims he found only wilting spirits at the taxi stand.
Facebook user Rabi Leo took to the social media platform on Saturday to air his frustrations, claiming that he was repeatedly refused service by a queue of taxis at Gardens by the Bay.
In his post on the Complaint Singapore page, Leo said that "five to six" taxi drivers declined to ferry him to Sengkang.
"One uncle said, 'You should ask the one in front.' Then I told him, 'They all don't want to pick me up.' He replied, 'Then you ask the one behind,'" read the post.
This frustrating game of taxi stand ping-pong left the netizen fuming.
"I know times are tough, but this is not like other countries," he wrote. "Can you choose and pick customers?"
The netizen added that it was not an isolated incident. "One kind uncle previously said that all of them were waiting to go to the airport. So they were waiting to find passengers going in that direction."
The post quickly gained traction, garnering over 140 reactions and sparking a chorus of similar complaints from netizens. Many urged Leo to report the incident to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), while others shared their own experiences of being left stranded by both taxi drivers and private-hire vehicles.
"The taxi driver at the taxi stand was blatantly waiting for call bookings," one netizen claimed.
Another wrote: "Some of them choose customers, yet want to complain when business is bad."
LTA states that it is an offence for taxi drivers to refuse to pick up and ferry passengers without valid reasons. Doing so can result in a composition sum of $300, six demerit points, and a possible two-week suspension of their vocational licence.
Passengers who encounter such incidents are advised to call the LTA hotline at 1800 2255 582 to file a report with the vehicle's registration plate number, the date and time of the incident, and a brief account of what transpired to assist with investigations.
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