‘Have a life besides driving': Death of private-hire driver a wake-up call, say those in industry

CNA

08-06-2025

SINGAPORE: The death of 49-year-old private-hire driver Gavin Neo from a stroke in May was a 'wake-up call' for those in the industry looking to cash in on working long hours, some drivers say.
Friends said Mr Neo often spent up to 15 hours behind the wheel to provide for his teenage son and daughter.
Private-hire drivers CNA spoke to said that while they have the freedom to choose the number of hours they work, incentive structures set up by ride-hailing platforms - offering cash bonuses for completing more trips - can push them beyond their limits, and should be reviewed.
Other said however that it was also up to the individual to know their physical limits and not blindly chase after cash rewards.
Working long hours for more incentives was precisely what Mr Lincoln Khoo did when he joined ride-hailing platform Grab in January last year.
'For me it was very simple, the motivation to drive long hours is only one thing: Money, income,' said the 40-year-old, who drives part-time and does emceeing and hosting gigs as well.
'The more you drive, you will earn much more."
Under a newcomer incentive at that time, he could get up to S$3,000 (US$2,300) in cash bonuses if he completed at least 200 trips for the first four weeks.
The current newcomer incentive on Grab's website shows that to get the highest possible cash incentives, drivers have to complete 200 trips per week for four weeks. There are lower incentives for completing 125 rides per week.
What does 800 trips a month look like? Mr Khoo laid out his schedule: A daily 18 hours of driving from Monday to Friday, followed by 26 hours of driving from Saturday afternoon to Sunday -over four weeks.
He said he slept in during all the hours he was not on the road, and took short coffee breaks and washed his face in between drives to keep awake.
For racking up a total of 845 trips in his first four weeks, he earned S$15,000 - S$12,000 from rides and S$3,000 in cash bonuses.
Taking into account expenditures on fuel and rental, he took home about S$10,000 that month.
Was it worth it? Mr Khoo described himself as 'the kind of person where if you give me a challenge, I want to fulfil the challenge'.
But he acknowledged it was not a sustainable routine.
After that initial burst out of the blocks, Mr Khoo 'took it easy' and drove shorter hours, taking home S$3,000 the next month.
'If you do it continuously for six months, you'll start to feel the effects.'