Uber will not be banned, says SPAD

PETALING JAYA: The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said they are not banning or suspending the operation of mobile application- based car-booking service run by Uber as the company has agreed to comply with Malaysian transportation laws.
A spokesman from SPAD told theSun that the commission was given the assurance by Uber Asia Pacific head of public policy Jordan Condo that they will operate according to the Malaysian transportation laws.
"Based on that assurance we will not have any issue with them," he said in an interview.
He said vehicles registered under hire-and-drive category are not allowed to be used for taxi or limousine services and drivers without a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) driving licence are not allowed to offer the service to others, otherwise it will be considered an offence under the Land Public Transport Act 2010 and Road Transport Act 1987.
"Although Uber had agreed to comply with the transport laws in Malaysia, we still have the enforcement team on the ground to conduct crackdown on individuals who utilised private vehicles or abused their hire-and-drive licence to offer transport services through Uber mobile app," he said
The spokesman however did not elaborate on the action to be taken against the offenders.
Although SPAD still allows for Uber mobile app and its company to operate in Malaysia, Uber has come under increasing scrutiny and restrictions from governments being pressured by domestic taxi operators.
Some countries like Thailand, Norway and Vietnam have banned the service. A Thai local media reported that the Land Transport Department director-general Teerapong Rodprasert declared that the Uber ride-sharing service is operating illegally in Thailand and any Uber drivers will be slapped with heavy fines if they were found for using improper cars and fare structures.
The department also claimed that Uber vehicles were improperly registered, charge fares that were not in line with the regulated rates, utilise drivers without proper licences and discriminate customers that were without any credit cards.