ComfortDelGro terminates hiring agreement with driver after repeated overcharging

SINGAPORE - Taxi operator ComfortDelGro terminated its hiring agreement with a driver who was found guilty of repeated overcharging, after a customer posted a receipt of the inflated fee on Facebook.

The post on Thursday (Nov 1) by user Joyce Lee showed that the fare for an Oct 30 trip from Changi Airport to Sungei Tengah cost $70.75. The trip started at 4.18am and ended at 4.52am.

The location surcharge on the receipt was $10. According to the Land Transport Authority website, the Changi Airport location surcharge is usually $3 or $5.

ComfortDelGro's group corporate communications officer, Ms Tammy Tan, said the company found the driver guilty of overcharging after investigations.

"As this was not his first offence, we have decided to terminate his hiring agreement," said Ms Tan. "Such behaviour is unacceptable."

She also said ComfortDelGro would like to apologise to Ms Lee for the overcharging, and said Ms Lee could get in touch with its customer service centre for the company's follow-up with service recovery.

Ms Lee's post on the Singapore Taxi Driver Facebook page received more than 140 comments and 350 shares.

"Hello everyone, just wondering if this is a normal fare from the airport to Sungei Tengah?" she wrote in the post.

She added in a comment that it was her worker from Bangladesh who had gone to receive his friend from the airport and later asked her if the fare was normal, as he was charged half the amount for his trip to the airport from Sungei Tengah. She also said the worker was "very upset" with the high fare.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.