Phan Phu Cuong, born in 1998, from Phu Yen, has been working as an ride-hailing taxi driver for nearly one year. On March 12 at 8 am, as usual, he prepared to activate the ride-hailing app to start his workday.

While parking on Tran Phu Street in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, a silver-haired elderly woman approached and tapped on his window, asking for a ride. Cuong cheerfully agreed, even though this wasn’t a trip booked through the app.

During the slightly more than one-kilometer journey from the pickup point to the city’s eye hospital, he struck up a conversation with the woman.

She revealed that she has seven children, and if including daughters-in-law and sons-in-law, the figure would be 14, but they were all busy, so she had to go to hospital alone. "They don’t care about me," she said.

In the end, Cuong waived the fare for her.

"Hearing her story, I felt sorry for her. Everyone has their own circumstances. The one kilometer-plus trip only cost a little over ten thousand dong. It was not much, so I let her ride for free," Cuong explained.

The woman repeatedly thanked him for his kind act. "She kept insisting on paying, but I wouldn’t take it,” he said

The short video Cuong later posted on his personal page garnered thousands of views and numerous comments. It spread widely across social media forums. 

The 27-year-old driver’s good deed earned praise from many, though the woman’s story sparked some debate.

"Such a kind driver!" said one commenter. "Raising so many kids, yet she’s still going to the hospital alone in her old age. So is she poor," said another.

One reader said: "Sometimes it’s not that the kids don’t care—elders at this age can be stubborn. They go to the hospital alone and then blame their kids for not taking them."

As a taxi driver, Cuong has had plenty of interesting experiences. He drives about 10-11 hours a day, encountering unique passengers and unexpected situations along the way.

On his TikTok channel, Cuong posts short videos sharing interesting stories from his driving days. It’s a way to unwind from the stresses of work and life while spreading the good things he comes across.

However, his choice to share videos of conversations with passengers without obscuring their faces has led some netizens to raise concerns about the privacy of his customers and their personal details they reveal.

Thanh Minh