Private Hire Drivers asking for numbers. Is this becoming the norm?
Context
I’ve been commuting to and fro using Grab/Gojek/Comfort/Tada/Ryde/etc due to work and convenience.
As the commute to work is pretty long (approx 40mins), I usually prefer to stay quiet and mind my ownself but would typically respond and engage in a chat strike by the Grab driver to avoid being arrogant/rude which could also imply negatively on me.
Yes, I’m image conscious here given how it’s apparent where I work and complains might come in insinuating we are snobby or something along those lines. Silly I know. Not going to elaborate on this due to the nature of it as it’s not important to reveal it.
Sometimes I do enjoy the chatty conversations, but I realise that these days Grab drivers are getting more boundless as they would openly ask ‘hey I like ur attitude and the way u spoke! Can I get ur number so we can be friends?‘ Or ‘can leave me a miss call… so and so.’ Or ‘lets go out….bla bla.’
An example would be the one time I was commuting back from the hospital and the Grab driver casually asked what happened.
Somehow I mentioned that I haven’t eaten after a long day of admitting my family and he suggested to eat out together. It was midnight ish? I refused (obviously) and he asked if we could go out another day. At first I thought it was a kind gesture but soon turned creepy when I realised the intentions.
Of course it is nice to know that people enjoy your company and would like to befriend you.
But the issue is the lack of ethics to casually ask someone about something very personal or detrimental to their own safety and security.
It baffles me slightly how a stranger would randomly just ask and expect you to be okay to share your details likes age, marital status and own number. PDPA where?
At the end of the day, the line between a service provider and consumer is very blurred.
I’m not sure if this is controversial, or that people would have a differing opinion on this… but as a girl I worry about my own safety. Some of these Grab drivers are old/older men.
You feel cornered and coerced into succumbing, and you worry that refusing might turn things ugly. It is also crazy to think that these Grab drivers now know where you stay. I have some friends who experience similar situations and have qualms too.
I don’t mean to come across as offensive, and I am not generalising/insinuating that all the Grab drivers project this kind of behaviour.
There are many whom are nice and respectful, would even go to lengths of providing hitch services so it’ll be a cheaper commute to work. But some of these few bad apples are spoiling the bunch.
Am I overthinking or being paranoid? Do you guys have experiences to share? Have you ever felt unsafe too?