Passengers dirtying vehicles also an issue

Coming more rampant, based on his personal experience and anecdotes from his taxi driver friends.

- FROM A1

FROM A1 coming more rampant, based on his personal experience and anecdotes from his taxi driver friends.

Recounting past incidents, he said fare evaders would typically not carry cash with them and ask to pay via cashless methods such as PayNow. They would then claim the banking apps are undergoing maintenance and request to pay him the next morning once the payment services are restored.

Mr Tan said: "I just let them go (without receiving payment). What can I do? Follow them up to their house to take money?

"This is about trust. If I don't let the passengers go and keep them (in my taxi), and ask their parents to bring the money down, then it's not nice, right?"

On why he does not report these cases to the ride-hailing operators, Mr Tan said the platforms would request drivers to make a police report, which could take up around two hours of his time.

"Is it worth it (to lose) two hours? Is it worth the time and effort, if the fare is $20, to make a police report?" he added.