Taxi driver William Lee was driving home after work yesterday when he noticed a teenage girl walking along the street alone.
Lee, 58, was surprised because it was almost 2am in the morning.
Thinking that she must have missed the last bus and would have to walk to her destination, he worried for her safety and pulled over next to her.
In his post on Facebook group, Singapore Taxi Driver, Lee writes that they were at the junction between Sengkang East Drive and Sengkang East Way, towards Punggol East.
Lee told The Pride: “As it was 1.50am in the morning, the surroundings were very dark, and I was uncomfortable with the idea of a teenage girl walking alone so late at night.” He figured she was headed somewhere towards Punggol, just like him.
So, he offered her a free ride.
The girl was surprised but gratefully accepted his offer. She told him she was on her way to the Punggol 21 Community Club nearby to watch the World Cup 2018 football match between Colombia and England with her friends, and hopped into his cab.
As she alighted from Lee’s taxi, she thanked him repeatedly. In his post, Lee added that it had been a good day for him, and the opportunity to help someone was “a perfect ending to make it all the more better (sic)”.
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With hundreds of likes, shares and comments on his Facebook post, it appears that many netizens agree.
One user commended him for his kindness and said: “Thanks for your kindness. The taxi industry will have a better image if more kind people just like you exist.” Another wrote: “Thank you for doing this and for ensuring the safety of people around us! Awesome!”
Speaking to The Pride, Lee said: “If I hadn’t offered to help, I would be left with a feeling of guilt, because I would feel like I’ve let someone down. After having helped her, however, I feel like I have accomplished something meaningful.”
Lee’s heartwarming act reminds us of several other kind deeds by local cabbies, who took extra measures to ensure the safety of their female passengers. One Grab driver got out of his vehicle to wait with his female passenger at the lift lobby as it was past 2am, while another intervened and staunchly refused to change a drop-off location so his female passenger, who appeared drunk, would not be taken advantage of.
It’s also not the first time that Lee, who has been driving a taxi for almost two years, has gone the extra mile to help a passenger. In his very first month of driving, he gave an elderly man in a wheelchair a free ride home when he realised the man didn’t have any money.
It’s comforting to see a taxi driver as thoughtful as Lee, who does more than just ferry a customer from one location to another. In fact, there are times he is even thankful that he is a taxi driver, and that he was at the right place at the right time. “If I was driving a private vehicle that didn’t provide a form of public transport, I think she may not have accepted the lift.”
Lee was caring and diligent in ensuring her safety, and while it may have been a small gesture, we’re sure that his young passenger will remember it for a long time to come.