PUTRAJAYA: Taxi drivers in the country must transform and adopt the latest technology in providing services to enable them to compete with e-hailing service providers, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook (pix).
He said out of some 43,000 taxi drivers nationwide, only 10,000 were leveraging e-hailing applications (Apps) while the rest was still relying on conventional ways of getting passengers.
“Taxi drivers who apply e-hailing technology, can pick-up passengers from two platforms - e-hailing and taxi stand,” he told reporters after the launch of #JOMTEKSI, yesteday. Also present was TNG Digital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Ignatius Ong.
#JOMTEKSI is an initiative by TNG Digital which provides an ecosystem for taxi drivers to progress in the digital economy.
Earlier in his speech, Loke said the taxi industry was among land public transport modes that had been highly impacted by the rapid growth of digital communications in the country.
Meanwhile, he said the implementation of QR code for taxi service via Touch ‘n Go eWallet, was in line with the government’s initiative under 2020 Budget towards the cashless community as well as providing an innovative and user-friendly option for customers in place of cash.
In a statement, Touch ‘n Go said more than 6,000 taxi drivers had opted to use Touch ‘n Go eWallet as a cashless payment method and under #JOMTEKSI, every taxi driver will receive RM4 as an additional incentive for each customer who uses the method of payment for the first time.
Under the initiative, five taxi stands in Putrajaya and Cyberjaya had undergone renovation which saw each taxi stand being equipped with USB ports to enable passengers to charge their mobile devices. — Bernama
