A mother and her child had just wanted to take a quick two-minute Grab ride to their next destination. 

But she ended up taking offence after the driver told her she should have a child seat, or just take GrabFamily for future rides. 

Upset, the mother, who goes by the name Jessica, took to TikTok on Thursday (Feb 2) to vent about the incident which happened on the same day at around 5.15pm. 

She shared that she had booked a ride from Katong V.

When she got into the car, the Grab driver told her that she should have brought a child seat for the ride or take Grab's family-friendly ride-hailing service instead. 

"He [asked] me to take GrabFamily," she recounted, adding that she didn't understand the rationale behind this as the ride was a quick two-minute drive and there were only two people — she and her 4-year-old child. 

Despite this, the driver still picked her up and sent her home. 

However, despite her frustrations, netizens were not very sympathetic toward her.

Some pointed out that her child did not meet the minimum height requirement so the driver was not wrong for rejecting them. 

Others asked if she would take the blame if the driver got into trouble with the authorities for this. 

There was also one who said that the traffic police do not care about the duration of the ride — they'll fine you either way for not adhering to traffic rules. 

Speaking to AsiaOne, Jessica explained that it had been raining, so she wanted to book a Grab despite the short journey.  

She also shared that this is the first time a Grab driver has rejected her and her child, who is around 1m tall. 

Additionally, she has never been told to take a GrabFamily car before. 

"It's not that I [want to talk] bad about [the] Grab driver," she clarified. 

What are the guidelines?

According to Grab's website, children between 1m and 1.35m are required to be strapped into booster seats during the ride. 

Passengers who book a GrabFamily car will have booster seats available, and the charge is included in the fare. 

However, passengers who do not have a GrabFamily booking will need to pay a surcharge of $2 for the booster seat, if the car has one available for use. 

If the passenger has their own child seats, drivers are allowed to pick them up with no additional surcharge. 

And if the Grab drivers can't complete a ride due to the lack of appropriate child restraints or booster seats, they can cancel the trip and their cancellation rate will not be affected. 

No booster seat or infant seat is required for children above 1.35 m tall. 

Pregnant woman and kids booted out of car 

Last August, a mother and her kids were booted out of the car by a ComfortDelGro taxi driver. 

When the driver arrived, the driver allegedly made them wait for more than five minutes while he took a smoke break outside his car. 

He also rejected the woman's request to go by a certain route. 

Later, as the mother was busy tending to the children, she realised that the driver was going in the wrong direction. He became defensive and said he had missed a turn. 

He soon became angsty and told the mother to take another taxi as he wanted to go back home. 

After which, he dropped the family off at Toa Payoh instead of their destination, which was Yishun. 

The driver has since been let go from his job following the incident.

ALSO READ: Couple ditch baby at Israel airport instead of buying extra plane ticket

melissateo@asiaone.com

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