KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — The government should introduce legal changes that will see drivers of ride-share services such as Uber and Grab immediately suspended if complaints are filed against them, a group has said.
Malaysian Public Transport Users Association (4PAM) president Ajit Johl said the group hopes the government will take into account its list of proposals for both the ride-share services and taxi industry when amending the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) Act.
Ajit proposed various legal measures to push for greater safety, including holding ride-share companies’ directors responsible for the conduct of their drivers to prevent the driver-vetting process from being compromised, with stiff fines and imprisonment if there is non-compliance.
“Immediate suspension of the ride share driver from the system, upon a complaint from User, and SPAD to be notified immediately. The suspension of the driver can only be lifted upon the completion of the investigation,” he said in a statement..
“All ride share applications must have a SOS button, that will notify passengers’ family, police and SPAD, in case the passenger feels endangered,” he added.
In the long list of proposals for the new regulations, Ajit said drivers should only be allowed to register for a single ride-share firm, besides being required to obtain a public service vehicle driving licence and undergo a medical test which he said would either involve minimal or one-off costs.
The drivers should also have no traffic summons or police record, while their vehicles must have a grant stamped “used for commercial purpose” and come with a GPS connected to the SPAD command centre and have cameras on both drivers and passengers, he said.
Vehicles aged above three years old must undergo a mandatory annual check unless it is proven to undergo maintenance by its manufacturer or appointed representatives, he said.
As for the ride-share companies, the regulations should require them to have a minimum paid-up capital of RM5 million and to be a registered Malaysian firm to ensure that it can fall under the regulation of other SPAD agencies, he said.
These ride-share firms should also ensure adequate insurance protection for its passengers and drivers, while the government should regulate fares to ensure ride-share users are not “held to ransom with high tariffs”, he said.
To allow the taxi industry to survive and co-exist with ride-share companies, Ajit proposed that the government abolish the permit system where taxis are rented out to drivers and instead issue individual permits to taxi drivers themselves.
“Prasarana, who is a government owned company for operating public transport should take up the challenge and set up a ‘ride share’ company and offer a franchise scheme for good existing taxi drivers. This will help end the current ‘pajak’ or ‘slavery’ scheme,” he said.
Citing a list of several other proposed changes to the taxi industry, Ajit said the creation of a level-playing field for the industry is crucial to ensure competition and the continued existence of an avenue to employ at least 50,000 full-time taxi drivers nationwide.
“We can’t have a situation where we do not have enough ride share drivers and there is no service for the user or tariffs go skyrocketing with a shortage of ride share drivers,” Ajit said, having cited festive seasons where passengers are left without ride-share services or have to foot expensive fares.
Believing the amendments will improve public transport services and consumption, Ajit said both the ride-share and taxi industry can exist together in their own markets, just like full-fare and low-cost airlines.
In January, Spad chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar had said the proposed amendments to the SPAD Act to regulate e-hailing applications or ride-share services were being scrutinised by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and is expected to be tabled in March.
Based on Malay Mail Online’s checks, the proposed Bill has yet to appear in the Order Papers for this parliamentary meeting, which will run from March 7 to April 7.
