Vroom, Vroom ...Ka-Ching!

Just how lucrative is it to be a GrabHitch driver? CELINE TAN did it for a month, and this is what she earned… and learned.

- Celina Tan

“Eh, why don’t you drive GrabHitch? You drive from the East to One-North every day, right?” This was asked by my colleagues, who swear by GrabHitch to get to work and everywhere else, thanks to its price — half of what you would pay for a regular taxi, Uber or Grab, and even more worth it with peak hour surcharges — and its millennial-cool concept (sit in a stranger’s car, save money and make new friends). Intrigued, I signed up as a GrabHitch driver, and two days later, I was approved. After a bumpy start, which involved not being able to find any Hitchers that were really on the way, on the way (I didn’t feel making large detours was worth my time) and one cancellation, I finally completed my first Hitch. Ka-ching! There was now 14 bucks in my Grab e-wallet (the money takes up to 10 days to go into my bank account). I was elated.

I was hooked. After one month of GrabHitch driving (not every day, only when I had extra time and found hitchers who were on the way for me), this is what I learned.

1.Not everybody wants to be your friend.

My first hitcher was the quiet type. She got into the front seat, said hi, and stared straight at the road ahead. We sat in awkward silence till we hit the ECP. “Is the music okay?” I asked. “Yes,” she mumbled. “Do you GrabHitch a lot?” I ventured. “Not really,” she replied. Okay, forget it. I thought GrabHitch passengers were supposed to be sorta like your pals. After all, they usually sit in the front seat, not at the back like with a regular taxi. And I’m not a driver for hire, just someone who happens to be going the same way as you… whom you pay money to. Okay, fine, I guess I am a driver. I felt slightly used. Sniff.