Perak e-hailing drivers urge govt to review regulations and extend deadline

IPOH, April 19 — A group of e-hailing drivers from Perak today urged the government to review the regulation procedures for e-hailing services involving license registration, vehicle inspection, and the operational requirements.

The group’s spokesperson Mohd Fazli Ramli said while the drivers applaud the government’s initiative in regulating and empowering the industry, they are however concerned over its complex and rigid procedures.

“We are fine with some of the procedures like getting medical check-up and applying for Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license.

“But things like an e-hailing tagging (sticker) in our vehicles will be troublesome, as once the vehicles are tagged, only a registered driver can drive the car,” he told reporters at the Stadium Indera Mulia here.

He said almost all cars used by e-hailing drivers are privately owned.

“It’s not fair to have such a rule. We want our family members to use the cars as well. We don’t want the cars to be used for commercial purposes only,” he said.

Last month, the Road Transport Department (JPJ) required all e-hailing drivers to be registered under PSV starting from April 1, with drivers who fail to do so by July 12 facing action by the department.

Mohd Fazli, who has been driving for six years, also said the insurance offered for e-hailing drivers was over RM400 while the fee for the PSV courses is about RM200.

“Most of the drivers are only earning RM40 to RM80 per day. It’s very expensive. We have a family to feed.

“We hope the government can subsidies the insurance fee, as we already have insurance for our private vehicle and we also hope they could reduce the price of the PSV courses to RM100 and below. Some places in Kuala Lumpur only charge RM80 per course,” he said.

Mohd Fazli also hopes the government could extend the process of regulating the e-hailing service, adding there are about 4,000 drivers in the state but only 100 has registered for PSV courses as the rest are still uncertain over the procedures.

Driver G. Chenchi Rao from the group said he the PSV courses should be bilingual as the current one is only in Bahasa Malaysia.

“Too much restriction in the regulations. The e-hailing services is supposed to be convenient for both drivers and customers.

“We hope the government will review this and would not impose so much restriction as our livelihoods depend on the e-hailing service,” he said.

Another driver Ramli Ahmad Razali also said drivers are uncertain over sending their vehicles to Puspakom for inspection.

“The authorities require drivers to send their vehicle to Puspakom if the car has been driven for more than three years. However, most of us are not yet registered under PSV.

“What if we went to inspection and failed to get the PSV license? It would be a waste of money,” he said.