KUALA LUMPUR: The Transport Ministry through the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) has instructed certain e-hailing companies to explain the price surge of services provided by their respective platforms.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said he expects the e-hailing companies to provide an explanation on the matter within the next two days.
He said his officers are in the process of going through all the complaints raised by e-hailing users over the increase in fares and getting justification from the service providers.
"If the fare suddenly increased to RM70 from RM20 per trip previously, this is certainly a burden to the people.
"If this is so, the complaints raised by the people over the issue are relevant and warrant explanation from the e-hailing companies.
"Therefore, we want to hear from the e-hailing companies what is the reason behind the sudden surge in the fares. If the companies blamed it on congestion, then how come such an issue had never happened before (before the country was struck by Covid-19)," he told reporters here today.
Wee was asked to comment on passengers' grouses, voiced over social media platforms, on the surge of e-hailing fares. They also called for the government to intervene by implementing an e-hailing fare regulation.
Wee, however, said he wanted to be fair to all parties and will wait for the explanation from the e-hailing companies before deciding on the next course of action to mitigate the situation.
"I believe that it is too premature for me to give any more comments on this matter.
"After the e-hailing companies have provided their justification over the matter, the ministry will look into the next course of action whether there is a need to have more players, subsequently creating more competition in the market.
"As a responsible policy maker, we want to prevent people from taking advantage of the situation and earn quick profit," he said.