MyTeksi, Uber only for licensed vehicles

KUALA LUMPUR: Only licensed vehicles are allowed to use the MyTeksi or Uber application to get passengers, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim said this was because private vehicles were meant for personal use and not for commercial purposes.

“The application is widely used by taxi users and drivers and its usage is legal, but only for licensed vehicles,” he said in response to a question by Dr Lee Boon Chye (PKR-Gopeng).

Shahidan also said the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) was drafting a new policy to monitor taxi booking system using the smartphone application, as well as having discussions with the providers of the applications.

Meanwhile, SPAD gave an assurance that it will improve the taxi industry.

This is because the industry plays an important role in the overall public transport system, SPAD said in a statement yesterday.

“The industry is not perfect and remains the most fragmented segment of the nation’s public transport sector while being riddled with legacy issues which have been around for decades. To make matters worse, despite a fare restructuring exercise in March this year, complaints about taxis refusing to use meters continue to make up nearly 40% of the total complaints received by SPAD,” it said. – Bernama