GEORGE TOWN: Penang’s Grab and e-hailing drivers may be less likely to pick up passengers from the Penang International Airport after the Road Transport Department (JPJ) issued summons to one of its drivers on Jan 1.
The airport has been an important spot for a majority of e-hailing drivers on Penang Island due to the high demand for cabs. However, following the JPJ summons, they have largely shunned the airport.
A Grab diver, who didn’t wish to be named, told FMT the summons was issued for the misuse of motor vehicle licence for carrying passengers.
“After the driver posted his summons on Facebook, we were very afraid. Why didn’t JPJ tell us earlier that the airport is off limits?
“The guy who got summoned told me that from now on, Grab drivers can only drop off and can no longer pick up passengers from the airport.
“Many of us are doing this as a full-time job, and if there is a change in policy, the government should let us know,” he said.
According to the summons, signed and stamped by a senior enforcement assistant, the 47-year-old Grab driver was told to present himself at the Magistrate’s Court in April.
The summons was issued under the 2003 Road Transport Rules.
Last month, a group of airport limousine drivers picketed, demanding that the government ban Grab and other e-hailing services from picking up passengers from the airport.
A JPJ spokesman told FMT the department would issue a response to the matter soon.
A Grab spokesman meanwhile said the company was aware of the situation and was currently helping the driver appeal against the summons.
“We are also in conversations with the authorities for a better way moving forward.” -FMT
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