Drivers bear the brunt of new regulations

THE current drive to impose stricter rules and regulations on e-hailing drivers is a bizarre move. As a heavy user of the e-hailing service and also a part-time driver, I think the government is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, making it look like it wants to create problems for the ordinary people.

I signed up as a driver with Uber five years ago. I also started using the e-hailing service for nights out on weekends.

My last ride in a conventional taxi before opting for e-hailing was from a LRT station to my house, which was a 20-minute drive. I was refused service by eight taxi drivers who were queued up at the waiting area. The ninth taxi driver took me home. I have never met a fellow Malaysian who does not have a bad taxi experience to tell.

The e-hailing service has transformed the lives of millions, from students to working adults to retirees. From being at the mercy of rent-seeking taxi drivers, we are now able to get a clean ride with a polite driver at an affordable price.

The service is self-regulating; if any passenger or driver causes a problem, one report can result in the person being banned from the service.

The routes of drivers and passengers are monitored for each trip and recorded.

The issue that arose over the e-hailing service was the welfare of taxi drivers. However, most taxi drivers have joined the e-hailing bandwagon and are getting much better rates compared to private car drivers. The remaining few outsiders must be very powerful people to be able to sway the government into solving a problem that doesn’t exist.

The regulations for taxis are outdated and need to be revamped, hence they should not be applied to e-hailing drivers in the current time. We have GPS navigation, real-time route and speed monitoring, in-car cameras, and emergency calls and voice recording apps in the smartphones of passengers and drivers to self-regulate and enforce laws. Why then are e-hailing drivers being forced to hand over RM220 to a driving school and sit for six hours to learn things they already know? As 100,000 drivers sign up for this, the training providers stand to make millions out of a single policy directive.

Another problem is related to the e-hailing operators. They are making huge amounts of money in commissions from drivers and passengers. They do not own any assets and don’t pay for vehicle maintenance, insurance, road tax, EPF, benefits or medical coverage. But they also seem to be very powerful people because the government only wants to regulate the drivers, not the company.

Drivers are at the mercy of the operator. With no third-party dispute resolution, one false report can cause the driver’s account to be suspended or terminated. Most drivers are in vulnerable positions due to loss of employment, sick family members or need flexible hours. Thus, they are at risk of exploitation by the operators who offer them zero employment benefits.

I hope the real problem is made clear to the Transport Minister.

PLATINUM USER Kuala Lumpur