ONLY 35 E-HAILING CARS SENT FOR INSPECTION
Drivers misinformed about procedures, says Puspakom
ONLY 35 out of 200,000 registered e-hailing drivers have sent their vehicles for inspection at the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) since April 1.
Puspakom said the low turnout was due to the misconception that e-hailing drivers needed to secure their Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence first.
Puspakom chief executive officer Mohammed Shukor Ismail
said e-hailing companies had informed drivers that they needed to apply for the PSV licence and undergo the PSV training course first before sending their vehicle for inspection.
“This procedure isn’t correct. The government has already waived that sequence order.
“The drivers can come to Puspakom to do the inspection first and get their PSV licence and training later.
“All we want them to do now is to get their vehicles checked before July 12,” he said at a media briefing on the e-hailing vehicle inspection operation here yesterday.
He urged e-hailing drivers to get their vehicles checked at the 54 permanent inspection centres before the regulations for e-hailing operators come into force on July 12.
Shukor said Puspakom also had a fleet of 19 mobile inspection units.
“All these centres operate from 8am till 7pm daily. The inspection takes less than an hour,” he said.
Drivers, he said, were required to pay RM75 for the first inspection. If the driver failed the inspection, in that the vehicle did not meet Puspakom’s requirements, a repeat inspection was required, costing RM25.
“Vehicles must be in good shape and adhere to Road Transport Department requirements, such as standardised number plates, no heavy tinting, and functioning brakes and meters.”
Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced new rules regulating e-hailing drivers in July last year. This included requiring them to get PSV licences and send their cars for annual inspection at Puspakom.
Drivers would also have to pass criminal background and medical checks.
Since then, controversy had broken out over the PSV requirements and procedures in applying for the licences. E-hailing companies had claimed that they had seen a raft of drivers quitting the e-hailing industry, as many of the part-timers felt discouraged as they would incur extra costs and time.
Transport experts had also suggested that the ministry provide a longer transition period since there was no real issue concerning the service in the public transport ecosystem.