31% of Peninsula cabbies utilizing e-hailing apps
KUALA LUMPUR: Some 13,500 of the 43,000 taxi drivers in Peninsular Malaysia are utilizing e-hailing applications, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri.
She said the government’s proposal to regulate e-hailing services was received well by most taxi drivers as the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) would formulate the best policy that ensured fair competition between taxis and e-hailing services.
Nancy said this when replying to Senator Datuk Yong Wui Chung’s question on the response of taxi drivers following the passing of the e-hailing law and whether the taxi industry would continue to survive and remain competitive during the Dewan Negara sitting here.
She said amendments to the Land Public Transport Act 2010 which allowed the SPAD to regulate e-hailing services have been passed in the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara as well as received the assent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
She said the Bill was expected to be enforced and gazetted along with the related rules in the second quarter of 2018.
She said special measures have been implemented in stages by SPAD to ensure the survival of the taxi industry in Malaysia, including the need for taxis to utilize e-hailing applications.
According to e-hailing companies, Nancy said drivers could earn between RM3,000 and RM5,000 a month through online booking.
“Hence, the government has set a key performance indicator (KPI) for 50 per cent of taxi drivers to utilize e-hailing system.”
Additionally, she said the government had awarded a cash grant of RM5,000 to drivers who have completed their ‘pajak’ contracts as subsidy to purchase new vehicles since March this year.
She said the government had also announced a grant of RM5,000 as incentive to taxi drivers who switched to e-hailing services in Budget 2018.
“As of March 20 this year, SPAD has approved 2,493 individual licences and 638 cash grants.”
Besides that, Nancy said the government had allowed all vehicle brands and models which achieved three-star safety rating under the ASEAN New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) or its equivalent to be used for taxi services.
She said metered taxis were also allowed to adopt dynamic fare rates for e-hailing services.
“Existing taxi drivers will have a choice of getting passengers using street hail or e-hailing with metered rates or dynamic fare rates if they use e-hailing applications.”
Furthermore, Nancy said SPAD and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) would be introducing new training modules for taxi drivers on entrepreneurship and technology, customer service, laws, policies and guidelines with the aim to encourage taxi drivers to use ehailing applications.