E-hailing vehicles have to be less than 5 years old

KUALA LUMPUR: Vehicles to be used as e-hailing vehicles have to be less than five years old from date of registration with the Road Transport Department (RTD).

This new ruling by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) will come into effect after the amendment to the Land Public Transport Act 2010 is gazetted and implemented in October this year.

“Drivers who would like to register to provide service under any e-hailing company would need to ensure their vehicles are less than five years old. Vehicles above three years will need to be taken for annual checks with Puspakom,” its chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah (pix) said at a press conference at SPAD’s headquarters yesterday.

However, vehicles now being used under existing contracts with respective e-hailing companies can still follow the current vehicle age limit for taxis, which is 10 years.

Under the Land Public Transport (Amendment) Bill 2017, all e-hailing operators must obtain Intermediation Business Licence and fulfil stipulated eligibility requirements.

The Bill requires that all e-hailing apps must have minimum features as specified by SPAD such as GPS capability, rating system and SOS button.

Among the other requirements are:

Driver and vehicle to be registered with SPAD.

Insurance must cover driver, passenger, vehicle and third party.

Drivers are required to obtain digital Driver’s Card and must own a competent driver’s licence (CDL), attend customer service oriented training, have no criminal records or summonses and compounds.

“The approval of the Land Public Transport Bill 2017 will allow SPAD to regulate drivers’ as well as e-hailing companies’ licences,” Mohd Azharuddin said.