Passenger in GO-JEK Saga Spoke, Claimed There Was ‘No Misunderstanding to Begin With’

By now, even the cats living in Yishun would know about GO-JEK, and it’s not because of their repeated rapping advertisements or the CNY advertisement song from SGAG.

We know about GO-JEK through a ‘kidnapping’ incident that isn’t exactly a plot of Taken.

So far, the GO-JEK driver has been called for an interview with LTA and it “went well”—however, given that he posted the video on social media, he could receive 21 demerit points in the Vocational Licence Demerit Points System (VLPS) and that would revoke his vocational licence, rendering him jobless as he’s driving GO-JEK full-time.

Nevertheless, it’s pointless to speculate the outcome, because like what Mr Tuvok once said, “I’d rather not engage in speculation. It is a dangerous pastime.”

The driver is allowed to continue driving, and LTA is trying to understand more from both the driver and the passenger.

When asked whether both parties are willing to meet up to resolve the situation, both are not open to the idea.

Now wait—does that mean the passenger has spoken?

As the matter of fact, yes: Straits Times somehow managed to communicate with the passenger, though her responses are pretty limited.

In Taiwan Previously

Previously, when Straits Times communicated with her, she was in Taiwan, and had not made a police report, though she was “thinking about it”. It’s also unknown if she was the one who filed the complaint against the driver.

In addition, during that period, GO-JEK has not contacted her, but it seems like LTA has also contacted her for an interview.

More Details

In the latest report, Straits Times managed to get more out from the passenger.

The reason why she doesn’t seem interested to resolve the matter through a meeting with the driver? Well, she claims that “there was no misunderstanding to begin with to be cleared.”

She told the Straits Times, “I told the driver my destination and told him I do not wish to take the more expensive route. We did not come to an agreement in Bishan and I asked him to return me to pick-up point or drop me at any safe spot but he refused to drop me off while we were still in Bishan. The rides that I have taken have always not incurred ERP cost.”

The driver had claimed that he did not let her alight as he wanted to settle the matter in a police station due to strong words like “kidnap” and “hostage”.

She then provided a route (to Straits Times lah, not to the driver) that doesn’t incur ERP costs.

In other words, she seems adamant that she hasn’t done anything wrong, though “kidnapping”, “hostage” and “autolock” weren’t mentioned.

What the Driver Said When Asked If He’s Willing to Meet Up with the Passenger

For him, he had “no answer” to that and simply added, “I am willing to forgive, but I don’t think I can forget.”

Well, with the video in social media, no one can forget.

LTA is still investigating the case.

GO-Jek is Winning the Game So Far

Lest you’ve not noticed, it’s been a while since a new ride-hailing player made such a dent in the industry.

Other than this “kidnapping” incident and an extensive advertising campaign, they’ve been acquiring quite a number of drivers and users with their higher income for drivers and lower cost for users. A user allegedly saved $240 when she switched from Grab to GO-JEK in six weeks.

If there’s anyone who’s most pleased with the incident, I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s GO-JEK.