Disabled e-hailing drivers may apply for PSV licence by next month

PETALING JAYA: The Transport Ministry will amend the eligibility requirements for the application of the Public Transport Vehicle (PSV) licence to allow the disabled (OKU) to become e-hailing drivers.

The current Road Transport Department (RTD) regulations prohibit the disabled from obtaining a PSV licence, which will become mandatory for the e-hailing drivers starting July 12.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said at present there were around 400 disabled e-hailing drivers and the amendments were necessary to enable them to continue working and earning income.

“We want to amend the regulation to enable OKUs to be able to register as PSV drivers. We are doing it immediately, hopefully by May.

“We are talking about 300 to 400 OKU drivers. They will be given priority for going (to apply). We will make sure come July 12, once the regulation is in place, they can continue to drive,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters after launching Grab Malaysia’s facial recognition technology at the Grab Malaysia headquarters in Bandar Utama here yesterday.

According to Loke, 25 companies looking to provide e-hailing services had applied for an operators licence so far, with 16 of them approved and two rejected, while over 1,000 drivers had been registered with PSV licences so far.

When asked about e-hailing drivers who rejected the terms of the PSV Licence registraion, Loke urged them to look at it from a different perspective and insisted that all drivers should cooperate and register according to the set regulations.

“Of course it will be a little bit troublesome for you to go to the course, (apply for the) licence and so on, but look at the long term benefits. The whole industry will be legalised and regulated, so that you (can) have a more secure environment to operate in.

“Once you do that, (it) is just for one time only. We are not asking them to do it every year. And then next year, you just renew it,” he said, urging all e-hailing drivers to register their PSV licence as soon as possible and not wait until the last minute. - Bernama