'No waiting' rule - e-hailing drivers want RTD to clarify

The Malaysian E-hailing Service Drivers Association (Mehda) wants the Road Transport Department (RTD) to clarify its recent ruling that e-hailing vehicles are not allowed to wait at public spaces, including airports, for passengers.

The RTD had issued a statement last week stating that e-hailing drivers were prohibited from waiting for or soliciting passengers at all public areas including airports.

Mehda president Daryl Chong today said that the statement was ambiguous as e-hailing drivers have already been provided with a designated waiting area at KLIA.

"We want a clarification from the RTD. What do they mean by 'waiting'? Its meaning is very broad. Does it mean that we cannot wait at the roadside because this will obstruct traffic? This is understandable.

"But if we wait at a designated area and do not obstruct traffic, this is also waiting. So RTD has to clarify this," he said.

The RTD's statement yesterday had led the Big Blue Taxi Facilities Sdn Bhd founder Shamsubahrin Ismail to urge Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to close down the designated waiting bays for e-hailing services drivers at airports.

Shamsubahrin claimed that e-hailing drivers were wrong to gather in one area as they should be moving around.

"He (Shamsubahrin) is riding on this word, 'waiting' and what he said is to indirectly chase us out from airports," said Chong.

He further explained that the e-hailing's pick-up system at airports was different from other areas.

"In the city, the drivers would just accept bookings and immediately pick-up those in their vicinity.

"At the airport, once you drop your passenger, you have to enter the designated area. Then you will receive a queue number from the e-hailing app to pick up the next passengers. So that's where the drivers queue and wait.

"If the designated area is closed, just imagine the hundreds of e-hailing cars circling the airport again and again. This will lead to congestion. It doesn't make sense," he said. - Mkini