KUALA LUMPUR — Motorcycle ride-hailing service Dego Ride says it will continue operating in Malaysia, defying Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s order to stop its “illegal” service immediately.
Dego chief executive officer Nabil Feisal Bamadhaj insisted that his firm only matched riders with passengers and was not a commercial setup. The argument mirrors that used by ride-sharing services Uber and Grab, which allow people to hail rides on private cars and which regard themselves as different from taxi services.
“Yes, (we) intend to carry on because we are still doing deliveries with our rider partners,” said Nabil. He noted that they were operating in a legal grey area, as such a service was neither explicitly permitted nor prohibited by law. Since Dego is not a taxi service, it cannot apply for a taxi licence. Motorcycles have not previously been used for large-scale, hire-vehicle purposes.
Dego was launched in Nov last year and has about 5,000 riders registered with the company. Passengers are charged RM2.50 for the first 3km and Dego said it has had over 20,000 bookings.
Passengers are mostly workers trying to get from home to the nearest Light Rapid Transit (LRT) station and back, or home from work after midnight. Many are foreign workers and some tourists have also started using the service, the company said.
Nabil further insisted that his company did not specify that they were a taxi service, adding that Dego Ride does not profit from “deliveries” offered by partners, while the published rates were also just a “guideline” for riders and passengers.
Liow was reported this week as saying that the service was illegal and must be discontinued immediately for “safety reasons”. He also warned Dego that enforcement officers could pose as passengers to nab those offering rides.
“We have the power to control this as it involves safety which is under the jurisdiction of the Road Transport Department (RTD) and Land Public Transport Commission,” said the minister.
“The offence is clear as the motorcycle riders cannot carry members of the public for a ride and collect payment. If there’s an element of payment, it is an offence under the RTD regulations,” said Liow, adding that he understands some people are using the service due to traffic congestion and the government is improving public transport services.
Dego said it has rules to ensure safety and only recruits motorcycles that are less than five years old, that have not been modified and that are below 250cc.
Dego also vets riders to make sure they have no previous criminal or driving offences on top of them having proper credentials and full insurance coverage. It also has its own insurance coverage with a maximum payout of RM1,500.
Nabil urged the authorities to evolve with the times and to amend the Road Transport Act to include motorcycles for commercial use and operations.
During the early days of Uber and Grab, the authorities labelled the two services as illegal, resulting in sporadic enforcement against their “partners”, the term used for those signing up to offer rides with the firms.
Taxi operators continue to criticise the authorities for not shutting down both firms, pointing out that Uber and Grab drivers and vehicles were not subject to the licensing and inspection requirements imposed on commercial-hire vehicles. Both firms have since been recognised and included in a proposed overhaul of the local taxi industry.
Nabil said Dego could offer motorbike owners a way to earn some money while providing passengers a faster ride through the city’s notorious traffic. “We are asking the government and its relevant bodies/agencies to allow innovation and technology along with empowerment to solve the unemployment and traffic congestion problems of the nation,” he said.
This article first appeared in Today Online