The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said that they will not ban the popular ride sharing mobile app, Uber, but it will regulate them to ensure that it will not hurt the existing taxi industry.
SPAD had a meeting with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MACC) recently, and agreed that the mobile app should not be banned.
“Uber needs to be in our system, then we can regulate them,” said Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.
He said that according SPAD’s online survey, 85% of taxi passengers prefer to use Uber over regular taxi.
“In order to be more competitive, some existing taxi associations or clubs already started their own app to offer better services. We all should know that technology can bring us a step further. But this does not applied to Uber. The main problem is Uber cars do not have any licences from SPAD and the related authorities,” he added.
Syed Hamid said they will need time to sort out how to regulate Uber cars, but he declined to further elaborate.
He also stressed that the public should be aware that Uber is ‘not always cheaper’ than using regular taxi services.
Source: The Sun
