Remove E Hailing Rules And Help 200 000 Earn More

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QUESTION TIME | Transport Minister Anthony Loke’s (above) puzzling suppression of the e-hailing industry, including Grab, will crimp the growth of a very valuable service to ease transport woes, and needlessly make it more difficult for some 200,000 people to supplement their incomes
If these drivers earn an average of just RM1,000 a month to supplement earnings, that’s an income of RM200 million or RM2.4 billion a year, which is probably more than what the government has ever achieved through any one single income-increasing scheme, 1MDB excepted of course
Such a short-sighted policy prevents both improvements in services for the public and at the same time reduces opportunities for hassle-free increase of incomes for hundreds of thousands of people, yet again demonstrating policy bankruptcy within the Harapan government
The government, and in this case Loke, needs to recognise that e-commerce is burgeoning and any regulations restricting their growth should be done away with if they are unnecessary, so as to stimulate growth in services and, by extension, the incomes for many
Another area that comes to mind are home rentals via such services as Airbnb, through which homeowners can find income for some of the excess unused space in their homes. Instead, the hotel industry is calling for regulations to save their own skins and businesses, much like taxi drivers are doing when they call for regulating e-hailing
The government needs to take cognizance of these new innovations in the economic space and provide the room for these to grow, or be left behind in the race to use the latest in technology to provide better services to the public and new sources of income simultaneously. Regulations should be kept to a minimum and be confined to making sure that the providers do their vetting properly
Rules for e-hailing drivers, including a licence plus insurance costing RM800, according to Loke’s own estimates, which will be implemented later this month, will considerably constrict the industry and will add to the inconvenience and delay of the general public in using public transport
Not only that, there may be a huge drop-out rate from an estimated 150,000 part-time drivers, against just 50,000 full-timers. If all 200,000 e-hailing drivers drivers are regulated, they will have to part with some RM160 million to be licensed and carry insurance
Remember, they are not the rich guys who pay tonnes in GST and income taxes which this government felt the need to relieve rather quickly, but poor-to-medium income earners. Why deprive them of their incomes by RM160 million just like that? About a year ago, Loke announced a slew of measures to regulate e-hailing drivers, including those of the largest company Grab, apparently due to pressure from taxi drivers who said that the e-hailing drivers were exempt from many regulations. They had one year to comply
The regulations went way beyond those necessary for taxi drivers. According to Malaysiakini, these included using vehicles that meet the Asean New Car Assessment Programme three-star rating, and sending vehicles over three years old for annual Puspakom inspections. The fee for this is RM55
Additionally, drivers must obtain public service vehicle (PSV) licenses and be subject to criminal background checks; obtain driver, vehicle, passenger and third-party insurance coverage; as well as undergo six-hour training courses from training centres for intermediary businesses, taxi companies, driving schools or from Spad-accredited training schools. Course fee is RM200 per person
Loke said at the time, taxi drivers have the option of reducing the frequency of the annual Puspakom inspections from twice to once. He added taxi drivers may be charged a maximum of 10 percent commission by e-hailing services companies, whereas private car drivers may be charged a maximum of 20 percent
Existing taxi drivers who wish to join the e-hailing industry may benefit from a RM5,000 incentive to buy a new car, he said. Those who have completed the taxi leasing agreement may also get a similar amount for buying a new car should they want to remain in the taxi industry
When asked about the discrepancy between taxi and e-hailing maximum charges, Loke said this was to encourage taxi drivers to participate in the e-hailing industry. He added that e-hailing applications must install an emergency call button for both drivers’ and passengers' safety, while the passengers also need to upload personal ID such as identity card or passport information on the apps in order to be verified. Tellingly, these procedures are not necessary for taxi drivers
Not surprisingly the onerous conditions ensured that Loke’s efforts to register the drivers so far has been a big flop. He said earlier this month that so far 10,151 drivers, out of 16,338 drivers who sat for the test, have passed the PSV licensing test, a mere 5 percent of the total number of e-hailing drivers of 200,000
That’s just one out of 20 drivers. If we look at it as a proportion of full-time drivers, that’s only only some 20 percent or one out of five drivers. It would also mean that there will be a huge number of illegal e-hailing drivers come July 12, the deadline for registration after the passing of the one-year moratorium. If there is a major crackdown against the illegals, expect a transport crisis in some areas
The motive for such a test is highly questionable. What is the necessity to obtain such a licence in the first place? On top of that at a cost of RM800 and substantial inconvenience. There is no such test required for taxi drivers. Loke says it is a common sense and logical test, so why
It looks as if a deliberate bar has been put to restrict the number of e-hailing drivers to pacify the taxi drivers who are known to be rather aggressive and belligerent in their vehicles and out of it when they threaten and beat up e-hailing drivers, meet prime ministers and ministers, and have demonstrations
In fact, some of the estimates for the number of taxi drivers, at 70,000, is lower than for e-hailing drivers at 200,000, which implies that the government is protecting a smaller group at the expense of a much larger group. Why, especially since it hinders the progress of service and convenience to the public
Many taxi drivers are also now e-hailing drivers and Loke has promised them a basketful of goodies, including assistance to buy vehicles and a possible lower commission rate to e-hailing companies of just 10% instead of 20% for others. So let them all become e-hailing drivers too
It is commonly known that the Road Transport Department or RTD has considerable enforcement and regulation problems, with complaints rife of inefficiency and corruption at all levels. In fact a couple of Grab drivers told me that it is possible to “buy” PSV licences on the black market
Given such problems, it may well be better to let e-hailing drivers vet their own drivers and their vehicles, instead of the transport department. They are also far better equipped to deal with customer complaints and do take action, unlike the RTD
In the past complaints about taxis fell on deaf ears, but now apparently the RTD is concerned that e-hailing services, which customers, and I from personal experience, know to be far better than taxis, may be a problem
They are not. E-hailing services are a solution to the problem. Their cars are more roadworthy, cleaner and better maintained than taxis and their drivers are far more efficient, polite and considerate. By restricting their usage and expansion, the transport ministry is becoming part of the problem, not the solution that it should be
Let’s hope for more enlightenment from the ministry and the roll-back of this ridiculous licensing arrangement. Then more people, who have time and vehicles, can profitably put them to good use, while providing a valuable service to the public by a much-needed filling of a gap. This is a true win-win
Why should any rational government put hindrances on legitimate means of earning income, while providing a good service? Harapan must remove PSVs forthwith and other roadblocks which help us become a higher income and more efficient country
P GUNASEGARAM continues to hope against hope that good sense prevails. E-mail: [email protected]. - Mkini

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