Five adults, an open can and a $20 note outside a club
01:15 outside a club at Clarke Quay. Five adults flag you down. Your taxi is a standard saloon licensed to carry four passengers. Two of them are talking over each other loudly, one is holding an opened can of beer, and one is grey-faced and says he thinks he will be sick. They all want Tampines, about 18 km away. One says his friend 'can sit on my lap, lah', and another pushes a $20 note at you saying 'extra for you, just go'. The group is not abusive, just drunk and insistent.
1. They are five and want to travel together. What do you do?
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The number is not negotiable.
- A standard taxi is licensed for four passengers. Carrying five is overloading: it is an offence, every occupant must have a seat belt where one is fitted, and in a crash the insurer can decline liability - which leaves you personally exposed.
- A lap-sitting passenger has no belt and becomes a projectile. 'Short trip' and 'they're small' change nothing.
How to handle it
- Say it once, clearly and without moralising: 'Four only, that's the licence - I can't take five.'
- Offer a solution rather than just a refusal: call a second taxi, or a seven-seater if one is available, and let four travel now.
- Do not let them all board 'while you sort it out' - that is how the argument starts at the destination.
If they persist: stay polite, stay in the car, keep the doors locked if needed, and drive off rather than argue. Refusing an overloaded hiring is a valid refusal, not a service failure.
2. The open can of beer, and the passenger who says he will be sick - what are your options?
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You may decline this hiring.
- A driver may refuse a passenger who is drunk, abusive, or likely to soil the vehicle. Drunkenness plus a stated risk of vomiting is a reasonable, defensible ground.
- State the reason factually ('I'm sorry, I'm not able to take the group in this state') and move on - do not lecture, do not film them, do not get into a shouting match.
If you do decide to carry them
- Ask for the can to be finished or closed before boarding; drinking in the taxi is not something you have to permit.
- Hand the unwell passenger a plastic bag before you move off, and seat him by the window.
- Explain the cleaning-charge policy before departure, in a neutral tone: if the interior is soiled, the operator's cleaning charge applies and is documented with photos. Announcing it upfront prevents the argument later.
- Keep the ride short and direct; no detours for a group in this state.
Balance: you are entitled to refuse, but if you can carry them safely, a refusal at 1am leaves five drunk people driving-age stranded - the courteous option is the one you can do safely and lawfully.
3. He pushes the $20 note at you and says 'just go'. How do you deal with the cash?
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Do not take it as an off-meter payment.
- The fare is what the meter shows plus any prescribed surcharges. Accepting an extra cash payment for the trip outside the meter is a breach of the licence conditions, regardless of who offered it.
- It is also the fastest way to generate a complaint you cannot defend: no receipt, no record, and a drunk passenger's memory of what he handed over.
What to do
- Wave it away and say the meter runs and you will give a receipt.
- If they want to leave a tip on top of the metered fare at the end, that is a different thing from a pre-paid off-meter fare - but do not turn the tip into the price of the ride.
- Start the meter as normal; note the destination so there is no dispute about where the $28 or $31 came from.