Wealth of The Nation:- Taxi Vs Grab

The spat between taxi drivers and E-Hailing services like Grab now get the prime media intention again when Prime Minister prepared to resign his post during the heated dialogue with taxi drivers over "preferential treatment" given to e-hailing service.

Despite receiving suggestions from taxi driver groups to ban e-hailing services,The Government of Day has seek a mechanism to level the playing field between taxis and ride-sharing services, instead of an outright ban.

Grab drivers now subject to the similar regulation as taxi drivers such as:-

• E-Hailing drivers now require to have Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license, which costs RM115 per year.
• To obtain new PSV license, E-hailing drivers must attend a RM200, six-hour course at designated driving institutions. They also have to pass criminal record and medical checks. 
• Vehicle need annual inspections at Puspakom. 
• E-hailing cars need to have a minimum three-star ASEAN NCAP rating (most local cars are four stars and above).

Furthermore ,E-hailing services will be regulated by the government beginning July 12 through the Land Public Transport (Amendment) Act 2017 and the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (Amendment) Act 2017. With this, e-hailing companies must register themselves with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and will be required to pay a fee.

The government is also now regulating commissions (the amount kept by the e-hailing companies) and fares (charged to the consumer). The Government announced a maximum commission of 20%, or maximum 10% for taxis using e-hailing apps. Apparently, commissions can go up to 25% at present. For riders, surcharges cannot be higher than two times the original fare.

So what more that the taxi drivers want?

Some taxi drivers still think the world owes them a living. Those who stubbornly hang on to their taxis are only getting what they deserve.

in 2015, Malaysia has been crowned first place in a list of 10 countries that have the worst taxi drivers across the globe. The list was compiled by British comparison site, LondonCabs.co.uk who published it on their website which was rather popular among Tourist who often see what form of transportation would be best for the country they are visiting.

Some of the factors taken into consideration when compiling this list and deciding if a taxi service is bad include language constraints, credibility, the attitude of the taxi drivers and issues concerning taxi fares.

Considering the fact that Malaysians know taking a Malaysian taxi will get you ripped off, many of them resort to taking Grab as alternative and leaving Malaysian taxi drivers with little to none customers.

The taxi drivers need to wake up and face the reality.

If the taxi drivers were providing good service, then the riot would be understandable. But then, they offer lousy service, cheat our money and are incredibly rude and yet, they wish to ban E-Hailing services. It makes no sense, really.

Taxi drivers risk being ‘left behind’ if they do not embrace technology that would make getting a cab far more convenient for customer.

Based on online poll on taxi services which was set up by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) from Nov 25 to Dec 3 to 46,265 Malaysian. a large majority vouching for Grab and other transport apps.

To taxi associations, if you are serious about saving the taxi industry, My suggestion for taxi drivers is to quit complaining and blaming the government. Start improving their services. Beat the competition. That is how you win in business.

I myself have been victim to Malaysian taxi drivers in the past.

I, among many other Malaysians believe Malaysia’s taxi industry should improve itself.