SINGAPORE: For private hire driver Francis Loo, 60, one of the challenges of making a living is dealing with “unfair competition” from those offering illegal “hitch” rides on apps like Telegram.
Such drivers are “bypassing” official platforms and ferrying passengers around without insurance coverage, pointed out the part-time Grab and Tada driver, who has been in this line for 10 years.
He pointed out one Telegram chat group, SG Hitch, which has close to 140,000 members. “You can clamp down, you can close the (group), but it could sprout up somewhere else,” said Mr Loo.
This was among the frustrations that he and other platform workers aired at a dialogue with National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng on Tuesday (Aug 26).
Over 60 delivery riders, private hire drivers and taxi drivers met Mr Ng at Fernvale Community Club in the labour chief’s Jalan Kayu Single Member Constituency.
This is the second such dialogue in as many months, after an earlier one in July.
Media were invited to observe but not report on the exchanges at Tuesday’s dialogue, which lasted more than one-and-a-half hours.
Reporters got to speak to Mr Ng after the session, as well as to some platform workers selected by NTUC.
