SHAH ALAM: The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has yet to submit its study reports to the Transport Ministry on regulating ride sharing services such as Uber and GrabCar.
SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Syed Albar said the commission has completed its online survey launched last year.
He said the survey revealed that 80 per cent of the public prefer using Uber and GrabCar services.
Accessibility, he said, was the main reason why the public would rather use Uber or GrabCar services compared to the conventional taxis.
"I would not consider this as ‘ride sharing’; I prefer to see it as ‘e-hailing’ as ride sharing has got it own problems.
"We have looked into it and we will submit all of our views on how we should tackle this issue to the government.
"Also, I recently met with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman. We discussed all these issue on the various ways how we can regulate it, because mobile applications fall under the MCMC.
"In that case, we have to make sure that the country’s taxi industry would be able to coexist and not be pushed out from the public transport system," he told a press conference after addressing his public lecture series on 'Land Public Transport Transformation in Malaysia - History, Aspirations and Challenges', here at Intekma Resort and Convention Centre, today.
However, he stressed that there are current issues in the taxi industry which need to be addressed.
He said taxi services in the country have to upgrade its standards so they can offer better services and ensure that passengers have a comfortable ride.
"Currently, we see the situation as not good. It needs a change or reorientation. We have completed our lab on the taxi industry where we engaged with all stakeholders and the report has already been completed.”
In the meantime, Malaysia Institute of Transport (MITRANS) director Prof Dr Saadiah Yahya, called for Uber and GrabCar drivers to be registered with SPAD.
She said this will ensure that SPAD can regulate and monitor these drivers, especially on the safety and security of the passengers.
"For example, if an accident takes place, who will be responsible for the act and how will the insurance covers the user?
"For now, what we see is only one side of income - the Uber drivers but there are no such insurance packages or plans which will help to cover the user. We want the passengers or Uber users to be protected in terms of safety and to be covered by insurance.
"According to Uber's studies, there are now 10,000 Uber drivers in the country, since it first came to Malaysia in 2014," she said.