About 30,000 taxis apparently lie abandoned around the country as a result of their drivers having been driven out of business by ride-hailing services, Utusan Malaysia reports. The story adds that only around 40,000 taxis reportedly remain in operation at present, well down from the 120,000 that were running before the emergence of ride-hailing, with 80,000 drivers having stopped operating their cabs due to insufficient income.
The Malay daily did not cite the source for the statistics, but quoted a taxi drivers’ group called Gabungan Teksi Malaysia (GTSM) as saying this was due to the gulf in fares offered by taxis and ride-hailing services. According to the association’s chairman Kamarudin Hussain, the disparity in fares had driven consumers towards the cheaper ride-hailing service, something which he blamed the government for.
“When the government doesn’t control the rate of service for ride-hailing, it will cause problems for taxi drivers. Ride-hailing companies are racing with each other to get customers until they compromise the fares. When that happens, the rates will become very cheap. So, certainly customers will use ride-hailing and no passengers want to ride taxis,” he was quoted as saying.
He added that the low fares provided by ride-hailing applications were also taking a toll on their drivers.
“This situation victimises e-hailing drivers because it also affects their pay and income that they obtain every day,” he was quoted as saying in the report, which was picked up by the Malay Mail.
Kamarudin said that the government doesn’t need to enact new laws to solve the problem. “If the amendment to the land public transport act 2010 that was passed in April last year can be enforced, I think it could solve this problem because the act has the power to stop the reduction of fares by the ride-hailing companies,” he said.
“The government can set a floor price for ride-hailing services, and it can be adjusted parallel to taxi services. As how the government adjusted the taxi fares years ago, the same can be done to the e-hailing industry. If this can be implemented, I am certain all citizens that in the transport industry can ‘find food’ fairly and harmoniously,” he explained.
The post 30,000 taxis abandoned in Malaysia because of Grab – gov’t should control ride-hailing fares, say cab drivers appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
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