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Persatuan Teksi dan Kereta Sewa Penang Sentral secretary Supramaniam Chinasamy said taxi and rental car drivers across the country were “close to poverty” because of e-hailing services.
In a protest at Padang Dato’ Haji Ahmad Badawi, he said the situation in Butterworth had been dire since the introduction of e-hailing apps in the mainland three years ago.
The first e-hailing service began on the island in 2015, before expanding to Seberang Perai the following year.
“We want the government not to pawn the lives of taxi and rental car drivers in the country,” Supramaniam said, urging Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook to look into the issue as soon as possible.
“We do not want Grab or other e-hailing services taking away our business to the extent of making us live in poverty.”
The 71-year-old said he was now making only two trips a day, which earned him RM30 to RM40 compared to the RM80 to RM100 he could make before e-hailing services entered the picture.
“After waiting for seven hours, we sometimes get one or two trips totalling RM30 in fares. Is that enough to buy food for the family?”
He said cabbies also had to fork out for maintenance fees as well as inspections and insurance premiums.
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He acknowledged that many taxi drivers had been asked to join e-hailing services but added that this was easier said than done. While some apps allow customers to hail regular taxis as well, he said, passengers preferred to go for e-hailing cars.
“We have been in this business for many years and have no plans to leave. We just want the government to be fair to us and level the playing field.”
Supramaniam and his fellow cabbies, who wore yellow shirts with the hashtag #reformasiteksi, had earlier held placards in protest. He also handed over a memorandum to the aide of a local assemblyman, urging the Penang government to step in.
Their demands include a requirement for e-hailing drivers to obtain public service vehicle licences and to subject their vehicles to computerised testing. They also want other rules applied to taxi drivers to be enforced on e-hailing drivers as well.
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