In what could be perceived as a total U-turn, taxi companies are looking to work with ride-sharing app Uber in an effort to “save the taxi industry.” A report by The Sun states that the companies will sign a memorandum of understanding with Uber Malaysia as soon as this week, a sea change from recent years when both taxi drivers and companies alike railed against the maker of the app.
A pilot stage beginning next month will see around 500 taxi drivers across Peninsular Malaysia from at least six companies using the app to get passengers. The taxi companies are said to be finalising discussions with Uber, since the latter predominantly deals with credit and debit card transactions.
“We will continue to operate as metered cab operators,” said a taxi operation manager.? “But if a taxi driver decides to take bookings via Uber, then the cabbie has to follow the fare rate set by Uber, whether it is lower or higher than the current regulated fare by SPAD.”
The report also notes that the deduction of fare income through the use of the app will only be conducted between the taxi driver and Uber, although it remains to be seen if that deduction will remain at 25%, the same as regular drivers using private vehicles. “We have to move fast since e-hailing will be regulated soon after the law amendment in Parliament this month,” said another taxi company managing director.
When asked why the companies chose to collaborate with the San Francisco-based startup instead of local services like Grab (which started off as the taxi-hailing app MyTeksi), a director of a leading taxi company said, “The public are more aware with the Uber branding. We have also been using local apps [for bookings] but we are not getting much traction due to lack of marketing.”
Taxi drivers and companies have been outspoken regarding the rise of ride-sharing services like Uber and Grab since 2015, having organised multiple protests – including one which blocked Jalan Bukit Bintang. There have also been reports of drivers suing the app makers, as well as harassing their drivers.
All these have not dampened the popularity of these services, however, with The Sun reporting last October that around 10,000 taxi drivers have returned their vehicles to their respective companies due to stiff competition from Uber and Grab. It is said that many taxi companies may not survive beyond 2018, and have since told the publication that “instead of continuous war against Uber, it is time to embrace the ‘enemy.'”
The aforementioned director said that taxi companies have little choice but to use Uber in response to market demands, which The Sun noted was a clear sign that the industry was conceding defeat to the growing popularity of ride-sharing services.
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How bout no?
How bout no to Uber?
Cukur Khazanah, Cukur KWAP.
Uber Kuat Rakyat Sihat.
Wtf with so many thumbsdown? U all Uber macai ah? Support our local taxis lah
Let’s wait for report that Uber drivers won’t use the metered app. LoL
Taxi drivers can switch to driving trains.
What happened to all the road blocks and threats?
What happened to all the KL working crowd who took 5 hours to reach home with all the threats and road blocks?
Were there any arrest by PDRM for the roadblocks caused National Security issues?
What happened to the ambulances carrying heart attack patients who could not reach hospital in time due to the jams and road blocks caused by the teksi gangsters?
Who is going to compensate the family of people who died in ambulances because of the road blocks and gangsterism?
And how is this working with UBER going to clear the image of Malaysian teksi drivers being the No 1 Worst in the world?
Kerajaan akan memperbanyakkan Teksi 1Malaysia (TEKS1M) berasaskan model Proton untuk menggantikan teksi bersaiz kecil sekarang.
Ini dapat mempastikan perkhidmatan yang lebih baik dan setaraf dengan perkhidmatan teksi di negara maju.
Support Proton = Support Taxi
Cukurlah ada Proton, rakyat tak payah pakai bas
If I get a taxi as uber, I will cancel the ride. Simply because their bad behavior.
n do you think those taxi driver will not join uber/grab later if taxi industry collapse?
Would be interesting if bluecab frogface starts begging to join the alliance
Let there be only Uber and Grabcar.We are happy.
Remember,NEVER REWARD MEDIOCRITY.
Never compromise.
Stand tall.
Before JV with Uber, must lah Ubah yourself. Who wants to get ride from, 20year Saga, with gangster drivers.
When u cant beat them,….
There is no future in the taxi industry. Within 5 years autonomous taxis will rule the market. Uber and Grab drivers had better start making plans too.
I will not use uber anymore since they employ taxi drivers. I choose uber because of certain standards.
Uber pls think deeply and wisely before you embark on this!
Jom Uber! Jom Ubah!!
If my next Uber ride turn out to be a regular taxi, will just cancel my booking.
Those run down vehicles and driver attitudes deserve no sympathy.
what if those taxi driver use their own car? can u differentiate?
Cannot, but after I get into the car then probably can. Anyway I am able to complain if he/she is acting like a thug taxi driver.
Hahaha… them taxi clowns. Uber exist for a reason and that is because you are lousy.
So they want UberTAXI like they do in the US?
“Save Industry” or “SAVING YOUR POCKET?” There was a huge difference between!
In big cities, there’s an option to choose taxi on Uber.
This could happen much earlier and you taxi drivers could be earning money via UBER GRAB since last year but you all chose to “throw eggs” at UBER GRAB.
Now dah insaf ke?
If the they really manage to work together. Good luck to UBER customer service department. There will be lots of complains lodge against the “gangster” attitude taxi drivers.
Probably after a month or two, UBER is able to filter/sack! out all the gangster taxi and keep the good ones in service for the public :)
All the best
Where is scary bota now ,a representative of taxi driver association .
Uber, your company reputation will be damaged by these hooligans disguised as taxi drivers. They will sabotage your company from within, so that they can go back to the “good old days” of taxis being king. Please update your app to show if driver is taxi or otherwise and allow consumers to choose if they want a taxi or not.
with so many taxi drivers onboard with uber, the current uber drivers will suffer stiff competition.
those drivers that started driving when Uber was first in Malaysia ripped the most benefits.
Jz closed down malaysia taxi’s.. we need uber is more than enuff
Irrespective who comes, to me it is ‘service is the NAME efficiency and cleanliness is the GAME’. Bottom line is who cares if the service provided is good.
that’s right. taxi companies should work with uber to improve the service level of the industry… and the industry shall be saved…
I would say if taxi industry falls, there also innocent drivers in there. If they join force with UBER, they can’t bring their taxi attitude into UBER. If they do then they have to regret at the end. Everybody want to make money or survive. I’m just saying as a human race.
The current taxi industry doesn’t need to merge with Uber in order to save themselves. They just need to change their current attitude and stop cheating their customers.
let the taxi drivers join Uber.
if they bring along their attitude in Uber, passengers will give low rating to them, which will cause Uber to ban them to become driver (rating below 4.6 out of 5 stars)