Tackle taxi problems instead of coming after us, private cab drivers tell SPADInstead of clampdown on private taxi services, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) should address the problems plaguing the industry, especially the taxi services, drivers of ride-sharing companies said.
A full-time Uber driver, who only wanted to be known as Adam, 40, said SPAD will not solve the real issues surrounding the taxi industry by making private taxi drivers like himself as scapegoats.
"They are not addressing the core issue by tracking us down... the whole driving experience will not be immediately improved.
"We are not the core issue, the core issue to me is the welfare of the normal taxi drivers that are not being addressed," he told The Malaysian Insider.
He said that if the issues were not immediately looked into, it would force taxi drivers to continue behaving the same.
In July, London-based website, LondonCabs.co.uk rated taxi drivers from Kuala Lumpur as the worst in the world.
It said that apart from overcharging clients and detouring, some taxi drivers also refused to charge by the meter although they are supposed to do so.
As for Adam, the entire fiasco of SPAD's seizing Uber cars has somewhat made him worry about the consequences.
"I will continue (to be Uber driver) but will let the dust settle for awhile first. I'll take my time and check around to see what the demand is like."
Another Uber driver, Alice, said SPAD was being selective on the issues it wanted to tackle.
She urged the authority to focus on how to make the taxi industry more effective and competitive.
"Apart from permits, SPAD should also tackle other issues involving the taxi services. Uber only exists when there is a demand, so SPAD needs to tackle the whole taxi services problems in Malaysia," she said, adding that Uber at the moment, merely filling the gap in the industry.
"To have a better taxi service, they should see how they can work with Uber to legalise the service. It is SPAD's call now, not ours."
A driver for another ride-sharing company, GrabCar said due to the crackdown, he is now contemplating whether to continue driving for the company.
"I'm still not sure of what to do (next). If SPAD always catches us, maybe I will quit," the 32-year-old driver.
English daily, theSun yesterday reported that the transport authority has found a new way to apprehend private car owners who offered the taxi services, which authorities have declared illegal, without going undercover.
Quoting a source, the report said these cars may be seized for violating the Land Public Transport Act 2010.
Should the car owner fail to adhere to the first notice to attend an interview and bring the said car, the source said SPAD would then issue one more notice before "utilising all available channels to locate the private vehicle".
The report also said SPAD has seized 145 private cars since October last year, including 44 Uber and 97 GrabCar vehicles.
Drivers guilty of unlicensed ferrying face fines of up to RM10,000 or a maximum of one year’s jail, or both. Car companies could be fined up to RM100,000. – October 6, 2015.
Ride-sharing drivers urge authorities to look at the problems plaguing the taxi industry as a whole and not use them as scapegoats. – The Malaysian Insider filepic, October 6, 2015.
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