As the 12 July deadline for all e-hailing drivers to take obtain a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license looms closer, ride-sharing services are expected to lose approximately 50% of its drivers once the date lapses. In particular, many of its drivers who do the job on a part-time basis.
One reason behind the prediction was that many part-time e-hailing drivers didn’t see any long-term benefit or gain towards keeping to the requirements. To recap, a new regulation set forth by the Ministry of Transportation is that all drivers under ride-hailing services will be required to undergo PSV training.
In an effort to help its drivers to alleviate the cost of training, Grab subsidises its driver RM50 for the training, as well as subsidises the RM70 initial inspection cost in full, for vehicles older than three years.
To date, there are approximately 200000 drivers currently working in Malaysia. Of the 200000, approximate three-quarters of them are part-time drivers. After 12 July, it is also expected that fewer people will want to sign up as e-hailing drivers.
Obviously, Grab isn’t the only e-hailing service that is expected. Mula, another ride-sharing company, says that it expected its driver fallout rate to be somewhere between 30% and 40%. Carriage for Her, a women-only ride-sharing service, says that the new regulations will affect its business even further, more so since part-timers drivers clearly make up the bulk of all ride-sharing services.
(Source: The Star)
