Grab blames 'system error' for very high prices on app, some above S$1,000
The glitch was reported by some users around noon.
Users in both Singapore and Malaysia reported these sky-high fares appearing on Grab's app and some users were affected by the errors, even with Grab's safeguards preventing most bookings with incorrect charges from going through
Affected users of these prices have already had their refunds processed as of 9pm, Grab said in a statement on Wednesday night.
It was not clear earlier if any payments at that price point were charged to any riders.
Grab said the system error was an unwelcome surprise due to a misconfigured fee, which it corrected within 20 minutes.
"We are doing everything to learn from this so it doesn't happen again," Grab said.
In an earlier response to queries from CNA, Grab said its app was functioning as usual after the issue was resolved.
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Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Africa presents a promising new frontier for Singapore businesses
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Kitchen-appliance supplier Newmatic, for instance, faced a highly competitive market in Singapore. In 2015, it had the opportunity to partner with a distributor to enter Kenya. Since then, it has opened 14 showrooms across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola and Nigeria. Doing business in Africa comes with challenges, from currency volatility to regulatory complexities. But companies would face similar challenges when entering any market – and can overcome them by investing time to understand local market nuances, conducting thorough due diligence and developing targeted strategies for mitigation. Where the opportunities lie For companies ready to venture into Africa, the growing focus on sustainability is creating new opportunities. One major area is the emerging carbon economy, within which Africa's vast natural resources position it as a key player. Singapore sees Africa as an important partner here, and has signed implementation agreements with Ghana and Rwanda. 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The opportunities are clear; the time to act is now. The writer is deputy managing director of markets at Enterprise Singapore
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Why wine bar RVLT transformed into Revolution, a restaurant at Fritz Hansen Place in Singapore
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When you shake their hands, they're rough and filled with wine stains,' Lim explained, charmed by the warmth an authenticity of the natural wine makers he met. Gho's wine interest was seeded in hospitality school but like Lim, his knowledge was mainly self-taught after he gained little real insight from lecturers and industry colleagues. 'I started reading about wine, buying magazines, et cetera. There were so many new things to learn daily,' he said. From Morten's Steakhouse, he became Raffles Hotel's head sommelier. Subsequently he took on roles at The American Club Singapore, Jean-Georges in Shanghai where he had relocated to for a time, and then Daniel Boulud's db Bistro Moderne at the Marina Bay Sands. RVLT'S BEGINNINGS Gho and Lim started hanging out after work. They could not find many places with good music, wine and ambience that were opened after 11pm. The idea of setting up a space together remained a casual discussion until a mutual friend invited them to use his restaurant in a shophouse at Killiney Road. 'He had a space but no concept; we had a concept but no space. So we agreed,' explained Goh. And so RVLT opened in 2006. The name is an abbreviation of the word 'revolution', chosen because of natural wine's resurgence in the modern wine scene just before the pandemic. Natural wine refers to wine made without chemicals and industrial processes – the way it was done before the 1950s and the onset of mass production. One of RVLT's ideas was to replace the wine list with a 'wine wall' to make wine selecting less intimidating. 'Out of 10 people, eight will stare at the wine list and not know what to do with it. But with this wine wall or retail shop format, people recognise a label although they don't know the wine producer's name. Many would say, 'Oh! I know this wine; I had it last time and liked it. Can I have it?'' said Gho. 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Leong's nuggets become one of RVLT's signatures that continue to be served at Revolution. Business initially boomed. RVLT also expanded to Taipei when Gho relocated to the city for a time. 'It was amazing during the pandemic, as soon as the initial uncertainties were over,' he said. He recalled having to turn customers away as the wine bar in Singapore was too packed. Customers could not travel overseas and so came to RVLT for respite from the stresses of the pandemic and being confined at home. 'It was impossible to book [a table] during that time. People would just linger; I would also stay for six, seven hours,' Reicherl recalled. WHEN THE BUZZ FADES When the borders opened after the pandemic, the wine bar emptied out as customers started travelling with a vengeance. Those who visited RVLT in their 20s and early-30s got married, had kids, drank less and stayed home more. 'Our replacement rate was not one to one because the next generation of young people do not drink or go out as much,' lamented Gho. Those who came would rush to leave by 10.30pm to catch the bus or train as taxi fees surged. The rise of online meetings, shrinking expat budgets, cautious tourist spending, and higher transport costs all contributed to fewer customers and reduced spending. The continued fervour of online gaming from pandemic times did not help. 'During COVID, people were stuck at home and started buying nice gaming chairs, sound systems; they began socialising online instead of at bars or other social places,' observed Gho. 'One Thursday night in December last year, we looked around at 8.34pm and RVLT was empty. That was scary,' Lim remembered. The business became unsustainable, and the pair decided to call it quits – until Reicherl came in with the perfect collaboration. SAME BUT DIFFERENT Revolution, Gho stressed, is not RVLT version 2. 'We kept some signature dishes but generally, we wanted to be different from the RVLT brand. We are no longer a wine bar but a restaurant. We want to have the same energy, spirit and hospitality. But everything else is different – from the uniforms to the look of the space.' Chef Leong's cuisine is now modern comfort food with a playful twist, influenced by seasonal produce. Currently, it is opened daily for lunch. It will open in September for dinner as well with a five-course tasting experience. 'I wish for Revolution to get a Michelin star because Sunny is a very good chef. He should get the recognition because he was 'forced' to make bar food for the last seven years and now he has a platform; it's time for him to shine,' said Lim earnestly. For now, the duo is happy to continue having a space to hang out. Their regulars at RVLT are similarly glad. Gho recalled looking around during Revolution's opening party and saying to Lim, 'We changed the location and the space looks nicer now. But it's the same people.'
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Commentary: AI can boost Singapore's productivity, but let's not lose the point of work
SINGAPORE: If there's one message that keeps coming up in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's recent speeches, it's that Singapore can't afford to sit on the sidelines as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the global economy. Singapore needs to 'think harder' about how it can help every company ' make full use of AI ', he said at a conference last month hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and Singapore Business Federation (SBF). Then on Sunday (Aug 17), during his National Day Rally (NDR) speech, Mr Wong described AI as 'a defining technology of our time', likening its impact to the computer and the internet. 'We will equip and empower every enterprise, especially our SMEs – to harness AI effectively, and sharpen their competitive edge,' he added. In total, Mr Wong mentioned AI around 40 times in his speech, as he outlined Singapore's vision to boost productivity through widespread adoption of the technology. While the ambition is clear, the challenge lies in how it will be implemented in the workplace. A recent multi-country study found that only 19 per cent of firms in Singapore have adopted artificial intelligence or machine learning tools. That means there's significant room for future adoption. But if the implementation isn't handled thoughtfully, AI risks stripping work of its meaning and purpose, reducing our sense of mastery and leaving us feeling like cogs in a machine. The central question for Singapore's AI future, therefore, shouldn't be about using the latest AI tools. What truly matters is how we integrate AI thoughtfully into our personal and professional lives, so that AI enhances – rather than erodes – the meaning and purpose we derive from our work. A CAMERA DOES NOT MAKE SOMEONE A PHOTOGRAPHER When we hear 'AI adoption' in the name of productivity, the first thing that comes to mind is automation – technology doing things faster and cheaper. That sounds great (think of the cost savings this would bring!). But is there a risk of automation without reflection? Of mindless automation? We wouldn't want to create a situation where workers are reduced to passive overseers of machines, there just to monitor and push the stop button if anything goes wrong. Such work can be very disengaging, and we would lose the opportunities to practise and hone our skills. We are already seeing this in places with poor outsourcing practices, where staff grow over-reliant on external companies to do the work for them, such that it weakens decision-making and detaches staff from the work they are responsible for. Far from empowering, such over-dependency leaves workers less confident, less capable, and less in control. The point is this: What we lose from automation is not a technology problem – it is fundamentally a problem rooted in mindsets. A pencil does not make one a writer or an artist; and a camera does not make one a photographer. What matters is whether we see the tool merely as an instrument of utility or as an extension of our creativity and judgment. AI is no different. Too often, people want to use it as a crutch to 'do everything for them'. But AI makes mistakes, just like humans. And yet we are prone to defer our own judgments to computer systems – even in trivial matters. As an example, I once tried to order bubble tea without ice. The cashier refused. Not because it was hard to do, but because 'the system' wouldn't allow it. All she had to do was not put ice into the cup. Instead, she refused because 'the system' (i.e. the cash register) would not allow her to key in the order for an iceless drink. This might seem trivial (and bizarre), but it tells us how easily we humans are willing to surrender our agency to a machine. WHAT IS AGENCY? Agency, at its core, is the psychological conviction that we have the freedom and the ability to shape our environment. Those with a weakened sense of agency often feel they are not in a position to change anything, or that nothing can be changed, and thus resign themselves to the status quo. The philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel described work as a dialogue between the human mind and the world. A sculptor imprints ideas from her mind onto the clay by working with it, by shaping it with her hands. And by working with the clay – pressing, pulling, reshaping – the clay shapes her mind by revealing more about its properties and what she can and cannot do with it. It is through work that we gain a clear understanding of what we can and cannot do. It equips us with the necessary practical knowledge to effectively anticipate challenges, solve problems and craft strong strategies. Most importantly, it allows us to recognise and seize opportunities for innovation. In essence, work fosters mastery, builds confidence, and ultimately grants us freedom – the very foundation of human agency. The challenge, then, is not to let AI sever this dialogue. To use AI meaningfully to enhance our productivity, we must continue to stay 'in the loop' – to be engaged, questioning and reflective. This means being engaged in the things we are responsible for by resisting the temptation of simply accepting AI-generated answers uncritically. It requires having the curiosity to probe, the responsibility to stay engaged and understand what is really happening on the ground, and the courage to challenge the AI's answers when our instincts say otherwise. TECHNOLOGY SHOULD MAKE US BETTER, NOT JUST FASTER At the end of the day, AI is made in our image and likeness – it is fallible, limited and prone to error. It becomes 'superior' only when we surrender our agency to it. Without this fundamental mindset shift, we risk using AI to detach from our work, and to empty out meaning and purpose in what we do. As long as we remain engaged – actively steering, questioning and shaping what we do alongside AI – then we can be assured that these tools will amplify our human potential and creativity, rather than diminish it. This is very much how an artist is able to create beautiful works of art with a mere pencil.
