Taxi classes streamlined to 3 – taxis, hired cars, limos

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) is streamlining taxi classes into three, from today’s five. According to The Star, the reclassification of taxi licences will set the groundwork towards fare rationalisation and an eventual level-playing field with ride-sharing services.

“We are trying to migrate all related classes to just taxis, hired cars and limousines once the 10-year age limit is up. They can choose to be metered taxis, a hired car, or if their car is a premier or executive taxis, then it becomes a limousine,” a SPAD spokesman told the daily. Currently, the licence classes are airport taxi, budget taxi, executive taxi, premier taxi and 1Malaysia taxi.

According to a SPAD circular, taxi licence holders who have reached the maximum age limit will be given a six-month grace period to transfer to the three new classes, adding that there are currently too many categories, which causes confusion.

“Every car older than 10 years will have to be changed. We want the change to be clean,” the SPAD source said, adding however that if the taxis were only three years old, they can be maintained under the current classes. “We won’t interfere. We know it costs a lot to repaint the car, so they are allowed to continue under the old scheme,” the spokesman said.

Taxi classes streamlined to 3 – taxis, hired cars, limos

This exercise is part of SPAD’s Taxi Industry Transforma­tion Programme (TITP) that was announced last Au­­gust to resolve long-standing structural issues be­­setting the taxi industry. TITP’s goal is to create a fair playing field that benefits drivers, operators and passengers. It’s said to be a clear way forward for the industry to “evolve towards a more sustainable future by being responsive to market forces.”

Last month, transport minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong wrote that the programme was designed to help taxi drivers become independent by offering financial support to liberate them from the pajak (rent-purchase agreement) fee, which a huge chunk of cabbies’ monthly revenue goes to. It also serves to encourage e-hailing adoption by taxi drivers, giving them a safe, secure working environment as well as better service to customers.

Not an easy industry to reform, this one, and if it was not for the arrival and fast growth of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Grab, nothing would have changed. Will the government’s efforts succeed? Read more about the TITP here.

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