KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor advised taxi drivers today to change their attitudes if they want to stay in an increasingly competitive business.
Taxi services drew public backlash yesterday after some 100 drivers parked their cars on Jalan Bukit Bintang during office hours, forcing traffic to a standstill for at least two hours in a show of protest against ride-sharing services Uber and Grabcar.
“You have to ask, what is wrong with us? If nothing is wrong, then Uber or Grabcar will not survive,” Tengku Adnan told a news conference at the Pavilion mall near where the taxi protest took place.
“There is frustration in using taxis. You need to change, to survive you need to be better,” he said.
According to Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainol Samah, police had tried negotiating with the protesters yesterday but they refused to disperse.
Several taxi groups have been accusing the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) of failing to act against Uber and Grabcar, which they insist have been operating illegally.
The acrimony has resulted in occasionally violent altercations involving irate taxi drivers and those from the two ride-sharing services.
Cabbies also took to the street last November, marching from Padang Merbok to Parliament, urging Putrajaya to ban Uber and GrabCar.
Uber and GrabCar are competing firms that operate ride-sharing services in which private vehicle owners may offer transport services for hire without the permits and licences needed to operate a commercial taxi.
