'We felt cheated by his actions': Woman asks employee to pay $8 toll fee after he changes destination for Ryde home

She believed she had been cheated.

A Ryde user was surprised to see that she had been billed an extra $8 for toll charges even though there is no Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) from Seletar North Link to Waterway Point.

But after contacting Ryde, Stomp contributor Firdaus found out she was cheated — but not by who she initially thought.

The Stomp contributor, who operates a security agency, had booked a ride to Waterway Point on June 13 at 8.19pm for an elderly employee who worked as an adhoc security guard.

"From Seletar to Waterway, there's no ERP, but this driver charged me an additional $8 for ERP," said the Stomp contributor the next day. "I have been cheated by the Ryde driver."

The toll charges were even more than the base fare of $6.90, making the total cost of the trip $15.20, including the 30-cent platform fee.

Sharing a map of the route from Seletar North Link to Waterway Point, she said: "I'm not sure if there's another country with places having the same name as Seletar and Waterway Point and has ERP."

Below is a map by the Land Transport Authority showing all the ERP gantries in Singapore. There are none in the area between Seletar and Waterway Point.

On Friday (June 16), the Stomp contributor received a reply from Ryde explaining what happened: "Upon reviewing the trip, we have confirmed that the drop-off location was changed from the initially booked Waterway Point.

"Please be aware that the trip fare has been adjusted accordingly due to the change in destination. The actual fare for the trip from 38 Seletar North Link to Tropical Spring condominium was $16.20."

Tropical Spring condo is at 23 Simei Street 4 in Tampines.

Ryde said: "The driver has documented the changes to the destination and the additional cost of $8 in the trip review, as the fare was affected by the alteration.

"Our investigation revealed that the trip was taken by an elderly gentleman who requested the change in drop-off location. The driver informed the rider about the fare difference and calculated the revised fare based on the distance to the new drop-off point."

The Stomp contributor said she felt cheated by the employee upon learning this.

She told Stomp: "Ryde just responded that my employee was dishonest and made a change on the trip to his home as our company agreed to pay only from work to Waterway Point, not straight to his home."

Asked whether she was taking any action against the employee, the Stomp contributor said: "We would expect him to compensate the amount back as this was the company's penny and it was a dishonest act.

"We felt cheated by his actions. Even though it was a small amount, honesty is hard to buy."

In response to a Stomp query, a Ryde spokesman said: "Maintaining the highest community and service standards is of utmost importance to us at Ryde. We remain committed to providing a safe and reliable transportation experience for all our riders."

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This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.