Uber rides illegal in Sabah – CVLB

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Raime

Raime

KOTA KINABALU: Online ride-booking service, Uber, is illegal and not recognized in Sabah, said Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) Sabah chairman, Datuk Raime Unggi.

He said any transport services must comply with local laws and regulations and Uber, an increasingly popular smartphone app-based private taxi service now operating in more than 440 cities in nearly 70 countries, had yet to meet this requirement.

“We have not made any decision on Uber cars yet. Until we do, they are just an online-based pirate cabs and just like the conventional unregistered taxi services, they are illegal,” he told reporters when met at the CVLB Sabah’s Breaking of Fast event here on Wednesday.

Raime said Uber car services has already reached Sabah and is increasingly becoming a nightmare to licensed taxi operators, whose income has been greatly affected by the new emerging competition.

He said Kota Kinabalu Taxi Operators Association had earlier that same day met him to voice their objections to legalising Uber services.

He said the operators had submitted a memorandum calling for Malaysian authorities to take immediate action to stop Uber cars from continuing to operate by blocking their apps on the Internet.

“There has been many speculations and contentions on this issue, but what is clear is that anything not in accordance with the law should not be allowed,” added Raime.

He stressed that CVLB was open to any new ideas that could provide new and better transportation services for the public or help towards improving the existing transportation systems.

However, he said, various aspects must to be taken into considerations before a new system can be allowed, to ensure the safety of the passengers as well as the operators.

He said CVLB was aware of the study being conducted by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) on Uber and other online-booking car services, although the agency itself was not directly involved in the study.

“We have received many complaints from taxi operators on Uber service here in Sabah. Our stand is that it should be temporarily suspended until SPAD has concluded its study and decided on the matter whether to allow it to operate here.

“While Uber seems to be bad, especially to taxi drivers, it could offer solutions to improve the existing system of taxi services. What we need to do is to properly regulate the service so that Uber drivers can provide their services legally and at the same time we can treat everyone, including existing licensed taxi drivers, fairly,” he said.

Founded as “UberCab” by American multinational online transportation network company headquartered in San Francisco, California, the Uber service is based on a mobile app that allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars. The app was released in 2009 and quickly expanded internationally despite its legality continuing to be challenged by governments and taxi companies.

The argument is that Uber drivers are not licensed to drive taxicabs, and therefore illegal and could be unsafe. But this has not stop Uber’s rise and several app developers have already copied the system.

Although Uber still faces strong objection from the taxi industry, growing numbers of consumers as well as local governments were starting to accept it as the new, better way of providing taxi services.

In West Australia, a senior Liberal MP had urged the taxi industry to “get off its backside” and market itself better to combat emerging competition from the ride-booking services.

While calling Uber to install cameras in all of its vehicles, Liberal Party’s Upper House whip, Phil Edman, on Wednesday urged the taxi industry to do more to combat the trend, saying the sector had done a good job of innovating but had done nowhere near enough to promote that.

Anger at the State Government over its handling of the arrival of Uber and other ride-booking services remained strong but the service is set to become legal in Western Australia starting next month.

In Malaysia, such anger has been more apparent and directed more, in a more violent manner, towards Uber drivers and users.

Earlier this week, a female tourist was left injured after more than 50 taxi drivers struck the Uber car she was travelling in at KL Sentral. It was reported that an Iranian woman who was travelling with her husband was pulled out of the car before the taxi drivers used rocks to break the car window.

In its response to the incident, SPAD had issued a warning that action will be taken against violent taxi drivers found to have committed criminal assault.

Its CEO, Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah, said the commission strongly condemns violence of any form as it work towards finding the best solution to current issues plaguing the taxi industry.

He also reminded that taxi drivers under police investigation will not be allowed to operate as SPAD would suspend their driver cards. Those found guilty will have their driver cards revoked, he added.