With traffic congestion worsening in the Klang Valley, a transport consultancy firm has suggested that motorcycle ride-hailing services be considered again. As reported by FMT, transport expert Rosli Azad Khan said Malaysia seemed hesitant to introduce such services compared to neighbouring countries.
“Motorcycle e-hailing services are not allowed here due to safety issues. They have been done safely in Indonesia and Thailand, but I don’t know why it’s not being introduced in Malaysia,” he said.
The idea of motorcycle ride-hailing (or motorcycle taxis) isn’t new here, as Dego and Gojek have attempted to offer these services in the past. However, in November last year, the government put its foot down and declared that it will not allow such services to be offered, although it did have a slight change of heart later (more on that below).
Rosli added that should motorcycle ride-hailing services be offered here; riders should be screened before being hired and have their motorcycles tracked by GPS when they are active. Companies providing these services should also provide insurance coverage for passengers.
Meanwhile, Nabil Feisal Bamadhaj, who founded the e-hailing service Dego Ride, said motorcycle e-hailing services would appeal to those who can’t afford to pay for taxis or car-based ride-hailing services like those offered by Grab and AirAsia.
Dego Ride started operations in 2015 but was stopped two years later and brought back to life again in 2020 when the government approved a six-month trial for companies offering such services from January that year. At the time of writing, the service is still found in the Dego app (albeit without any riders when we checked), along with motorcycle delivery and car-based ride-hailing services.
Nabil said an informal survey conducted by his team at LRT stations revealed that commuters were receptive to the lower cost and faster travelling time of motorcycle ride-hailing services. As for Gojek, there are no services offered in Malaysia through its app, which instead redirects users to other countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
What are your thoughts on motorcycle ride-hailing services? Should the government allow companies to offer these services here? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Jam was problem due to cheap fuel
Now 65% more RON97 users switching to RON95 will burden gomen even more subsidy(every liter >RM1.70 in early April). Literally gomen is paying more for every litre we buy RON95 now
So to resolve traffic jams and promote public transport usage, gomen please market-float RON95 @RM4.50
Once fuel subsidy is removed, whatever foreign vehicles pump also OK. Anyway our EURO4 fuel is cheaper than EURO6 in SG
u know this mean it will evolve into everything getting much more expensive right? jam was due to alot of issues, not just cheap fuel.
Gud idea! More jobs and income for our school dropout youths and uni grads. Less kes ragut,
Never heard of this guy. Expert?
google his name and compare it with your cv
When he has no Dr. in front and no PHD, calling him an ‘expert’ is like believing a local shaman can perform heart surgery.
Paultan should really stop referencing alt sites like FMT or Mkini and the likes. From sketchy details, to unverifiable sources, to those ‘experts’ with fishy credentials, these sites should just be read and move on. Paultan could do better than sully their reputation by seeking news reports from mainstream medias or direct interviews.
There is a good reason why Government has resisted such calls to make Gojek legal here, taking food delivery example if the package is lost or damaged it can be replaced or refunded but if human were lost or damaged then how?
No, it shouldn’t be allowed. Have you seen how the delivery guys ride their bikes!!
Welp, that’s us becoming Indonesia, while Indonesia surpasses Bolehland
Get bikers in Malaysia to follow rules such as stop at the traffic light first. Always look at bigger and don’t only think about money and quick profit which dUMNO favourite strategy.
it is not only banned due to safety issues. i believe it is banned because it doesn’t look “appropriate” for a man to ferry a woman that is not blood related due to conservative reasons.
ya betul, we are an islamic country and therefore conservative. indon (ekceli prob just pulau jawa) is slightly more liberal.
Indonesia with arguably the largest Muslim populated country, has no issues with it and in fact this idea was born in Indonesia.
indon is more liberal. kite kan lebih conservative
They why Singapore has a banned list of religious Indonesians but not Malaysians hmm?
Let’s promote local business without incentive/subsidizing.
At the same time, since it’s not a burden to country, why restricted it earlier?
As long as Safety Regulations monitored and compliance.
Nowadays parents sendiri hantar anak to school.
Causing All the Jam in town, City.
Should Saman parents waiting along the road.
But Promote School Bus too.
Why on the first place parents want to send kids by themselfs? Do u think abt tht? Bcoz of Safety reason!! if here like SG, they wont need to waste time, money, inconvenience, jam just to send their kids to school! Think first b4 comment.. there is always a reason for anything. TQ
Transport expert???
google his name and compare it with your cv
When he is not a Dr. or a PHD holder, that raises a big red flag.
I personally feel that pillion riding in this day and age must be outlawed. If car passengers are required to have seat belts, babyseats, airbags, etc., why are we allowing someone to sit behind a rider going at same speed as cars, with almost nothing to hold onto and no protection, save for a poorly fit helmet?
If the problem is about relieving traffic, then it’s kind a selfish and kinda dumb one. Because you only subsitute the main vehicle from car to motorcycle. When you can relieve traffic in city centre, it’s get worse once you enter residential area or commerce district once e-ride hailing is allowed. Why not discourage people from driving by giving high taxes or congestion charge in the first place?
Ya, akan lagi ramai yang meninggal (rider), dan ramai lesen kena gantung, denda, penjara etc (driver)…
Expert kpale dia la. Nak lobi bende supaya keluarga dia kaya. Congestion problem solution dia reorganize jalan, improve traffic light control, bykkan jalan satu hala, saman org parking tepi jalan, saman org drive slow, yang ko nk semakkan jalan raya denga lagi byk motosikal tu kenapa. hilang la ke-exsklusifan KL bila dipenuhi dgn motor
Most stupid ever idea that I heard. Some stupid people started it, now Malaysia wants to follow. Female will never take it. Even a men like me, I do not want to risk myself. Those that will be the driver, majority with bad driving attitude, no one want to risk their life. Also, Malaysia weather is too, no one want to smell stinky sweat from a stranger.
Please dont proposed something that caused another mess and risk. once you implement, it is difficult to take it back. It is like in Selangor. When they implemented coupon gores dan menang for parking it is difficult to take back. It is like our country going backward.
Transport expert but safety ignorant. How many motorcycle riders were killed this year and multiple that by 2 for e-hailing pillion, there you go. I am not an expert but it is an absurd you ignore that safety is the most concern, not traffic congestion.
Thank you Paultan team for publishing this article and giving Dego App a mention and trying our app out even though were not serving the area you tested it in for now.
Motorcycle ride hailing services will contribute to an increase in road accidents involving the riders and also their passengers. Now, we just take a look at traffic light road junctions. Almost 9 out of 10 food and goods delivery riders like Grab, Food Panda, J &T etc. will beat the traffic lights endangering themselves and other road users. This is because the said riders are in a hurry chasing time to earn more commission money and also because of our Malaysian mindset and mentality unlike those in other countries who are more disciplined! Malaysia are famous for road accidents already although we are a small country. I hope the MOT will not allow motorcycle ride hailing services here.
better build more underground metro/subways
Hi. They should be allowed. But only local companies. The big companies just take money from the community and give nothing back.