‘DRIVERS SHOULD LIAISE WITH FIRMS’
E-hailing drivers who wish to apply for PSV licence should refer to their employers, says RTD D-G
THE Road Transport Department (RTD) has shifted the blame back to e-hailing companies over the controversy surrounding the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence applications for ehailing drivers.
Describing it as a “non-issue”, RTD director-general Datuk Shaharuddin Khalid said the drivers should be liaising with their employers and not RTD on their PSV application.
He said he was dumbfounded as to why the drivers were attacking RTD for lack of transparency.
“We have called e-hailing companies last week to discuss the PSV process. If the drivers want to apply for the PSV licence, they should go to their employers.
“If he or she is a registered Grab driver, go to Grab and enquire about the PSV application process. If you are with MyCar, go to MyCar. Do not come to RTD. Your employers should explain it to you,” he told the New Straits Times.
Shaharuddin said as of April 1, the module had been made available to any of the approved 211 driving academies and e-hailing centres nationwide.
He said up to now, there were 30 to 35 authorised e-hailing companies approved by the Land Public Transport Agency.
He said four of the companies, including Grab, had their own ehailing driving academy facility, authorised by RTD.
He said Grab drivers could opt to get their PSV licence from their company’s facility if they wanted to.
On Monday, e-hailing drivers claimed that they were still in the dark about what needs to be done and the requirements with regard to the application process. They claimed that their respective e-hailing companies had yet to be briefed by RTD.
Shaharuddin reiterated that RTD had held a meeting with ehailing companies last week. He said it was the duty of the company to relay instructions to the drivers.
“Know the guidelines and processes by talking to your e-hailing operators. How many times must RTD explain to the companies?”
Shaharuddin said drivers would need to undergo only six hours of training to obtain the licence, compared with the previous module, which had a ninehour theory class and six hours of driving training sessions.
He said under the new module, the six-hour driving training sessions applied to e-hailing and taxi drivers.
He said under the new module, one only had to undergo a Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) check when the vehicle was three years old or more.
Drivers are required to go for a Puspakom inspection only once a year, he said.
Shaharuddin clarified that the July 12 deadline was also meant for the e-hailing companies, for operators who have yet to register their company, cars and drivers.