SINGAPORE –
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore will investigate a dog-biting incident that allegedly involves the use of the GrabHitch service on the early morning of Sunday (25 December).
24-year-old college student Rushdan Eilyaas said in a Monday e-mail that his driver’s Chihuahua was on his right arm at the end of his journey from VivoCity to Bukit Batok.
This lengthy post – which also lists several other dissatisfactions he had with male drivers, including how the latter was rude and displayed in a different car from Rushdan’s GrabHitch booking instructions – virus, smashed more than 3,000 strands.
It also received more than 700 comments, and several users shared similar negative experiences with their drivers and their dogs.
Mr. Rushdan uploaded a photo of a dog biting on Facebook, saying he had already paid $ 117.40 for medical expenses, including tetanus and antibiotics.
Speaking of The Straits Times, Mr. Rushdan said he decided to write his social media experience to warn other drivers of what he called “horrifying.”
GrabHitch, unlike GrabCar or GrabTaxi, is not a commercial platform, drivers pick up passengers. The carpool service matches passengers with the private owner at the same time in the same way.
Passengers pay basic fare to the driver to cover the cost of their petrol in the car.
A Grab spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday night that Mr Rushdan ‘s travel and medical expenses would be reimbursed as a “gesture of goodwill. It also suspended the driver from violating his code of conduct because he had used a car that was not registered on the Grab platform.
“The GrabHitch team is very committed to the user experience and believes in building a driver and passenger community that believes in our community standards,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman added that Grab would not restrict GrabHitch drivers from bringing their certified pets to their vehicles, although it “strongly” encourages them to inform passengers in advance.
“Similarly, passengers planning to travel with their pets should also inform the GrabHitch driver in advance, and if GrabHitch drivers and passengers feel uncomfortable, they have the right to refuse to ride. We want all Grab drivers and passengers to treat each other with respect – and Sensitive to various preferences, so that everyone can enjoy the best ride experience.
In response to queries, AVA said it had received feedback from Mr Rushdan and would be investigating the incident.
This article was first published on Dec 27, 2016.
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