SPAD welcomes amendments to Land Public Transport Act

PETALING JAYA: The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) welcomes the passing of amendments to the Land Public Transport Act 2010 (APAD) in Parliament yesterday.

The commission said that the passing would enable SPAD to regulate e-hailing services and uplift the taxi industry via regulatory framework reforms which will be carried out in tandem with initiatives under the Taxi Industry Transformation Programme (TITP).

"These amendments are to ensure that e-hailing service operators and drivers adopt the highest levels of safety and service standards which includes mandatory background checks by the relevant authorities including the commission, the police and the Road Transport Department.

"The amendments will also give the commission the power to introduce and enforce other rules such as ensuring e-hailing service operators provide SPAD with trip and other fleet-related data to help in transport planning functions," SPAD said in a statement today.

The commission stressed that e-hailing fares will not be regulated under the amended law, instead it will remain market driven.

At the same time, the commission also pointed out that the amendments also enables metered taxi drivers to increase their income by adopting a dynamic pricing model when they opt to use e-hailing apps and metered fare when they opt for street hailing.

SPAD said further details about the new legislation and its impact on the taxi and e-hailing services will be made available soon.