E-hailing headed in the right direction

ON July 27, the Dewan Rakyat passed amendments to the Land Public Transport Act 2010 and the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board Act 1987.
All e-hailing operators are now required to be locally incorporated, and their vehicles and drivers in Peninsular Malaysia must be registered with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).
Insurance must cover driver, passenger, vehicle and third party. Taxi and e-hailing drivers would also be covered under the Self-Employment Social Security Act 2017.
Mandatory KPIs will be introduced for taxi operators and there will be stringent pre-screening of drivers. To increase standards a merit and demerit system will be put in place.
The metered fare structure will be rationalised. Zonal fares from terminals and airports will be calculated using distance to ensure consistency.
Metered taxis providing e-hailing services can collect fares as clocked by the meter from street-hailing passengers and lower fares from e-hailing passengers.
Training is mandatory for taxi drivers.
E-hailing drivers are required to have a digital driver's card issued by SPAD after they have been certified fit and attended customer service training sessions.
Malaysia made history with the passing of the Land Public Transport Act (Amendment) Bill 2017, as it was the first country to legalise e-hailing services. E-hailing operators are now obligated to obtain intermediate business licences from SPAD to operate legally.
Multitangled Views
Kuala Lumpur