The Land Public Transport Commission has directed e-hailing services to build a panic button into their apps. This comes after a spate of robberies and harassment cases involving Uber drivers.
“We had a meeting with senior Malaysian Uber officials to highlight the gravity of the situation. For a start, Uber has to expeditiously put in an SOS button which will be linked to law enforcement,” said SPAD chief executive Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah.
Grab is also expected to put an SOS button into its app, although the company has only been issued a written directive on the matter. However, SPAD has not yet spoken to the police on the matter.
Uber has made headlines for the wrong reasons after a number of robberies and sexual harassment cases were filed against its drivers. Police are investigating the matters, but SPAD wants more assurances from e-hailing services that this will not happen again.
Amendments to the Land Public Transport Act 2010 that require e-hailing services to share their driver details with the government are set to be tabled in parliament next month. This would also introduce a new level of vetting for potential drivers, leaving some of the task to SPAD and related government agencies.
Candidates looking to drive for Uber or Grab will likely have to undergo strict background checks and psychometric testing before being allowed to begin work. In all the timing of Uber’s issues only service to reaffirm the necessity of a governing body to oversee e-hailing matters.
[Source: The Star]
