KUALA LUMPUR – The government must standardise all e-hailing services, including taxis and rental cars, to overcome the increasingly dire problem of fare price hikes, opined an industry player.
Getaran, The Vibes’ Malay-language sister portal, reported that Big Blue Taxi Services founder Datuk Shamsubahrin Ismail claimed he also urged the government to coordinate the fares for all such public transportation services.
“We realise that the Transport Ministry has stated that e-hailing companies operate on an ‘open market’ concept based on supply-and-demand to determine fares, but this is not fair to all parties.
“If companies are allowed to decide everything while consumers bear the burden, what is the point of having the government and ministry here?” he said at a press conference today.
He added that if the government is able to control taxi fares, then they should also “intervene” in setting the fares for e-hailing services, noting that rules to protect consumers should also be introduced on such platforms.
“Taxi fares determined by the government following cost assessments have to be borne by drivers without burdening passengers.
“Meanwhile, e-hailing fares are not controlled and are left entirely to the operating company to decide on. As a result, the e-hailing operator will trouble passengers by setting unreasonable prices, especially during festive seasons,” he said.
He also called on the government to dissolve the Land Public Transport Agency (LPTA), alleging that the authority was not carrying out its responsibilities properly.
“The government should disband LPTA because it is no longer functional if e-hailing services can set their own prices.
“The function of LPTA should be to ensure that public services are more efficient, effective, and responsive but it is not doing its job now,” he said, adding that the agency has failed to provide solutions to address the many complaints that have been raised by the public.
Previously, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong had said that the government does not regulate the base fare for e-hailing services, attributing surges in price to supply-and-demand imbalance and high traffic volume. – The Vibes, May 27, 2022
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