Photo: Tech Crunch
How patient are you when it comes to ordering a Grab? Better prepare yourself because you will now have to wait longer!
The Ministry of Transport recently announced that come 12 October 2019, there will be strict enforcement in place for E-hailing Regulations, which means that drivers will have more time to get their PSV licences.
Grab will be offering help to the drivers in various forms like subsidising driver licensing costs, reducing capacity limitations, and by streamlining the PSV application process by helping drivers to collate and submit documents to JPJ for processing. The PSV license is necessary for the drivers to continue driving.
In light of the new regulations, Grab driver-partners have to undergo some processes in order to meet these changes. Like a chain reaction, the process will affect the number of drivers on the road, which, in turn, will mean higher waiting times to get a ride.
Photo: Grab Malaysia
Grab has a number of suggestions to help with this situation, with one of them being that users pre-plan their journeys for now, at least. Be prepared to book your rides earlier than usual, particularly if you have something urgent to get to. Also try to book rides during non-peak hours if you can! Getting a ride outside of the 7-9 a.m. and 5-8 p.m. peak hours would be much easier.
Other than higher waiting times, you can also expect higher fares! With lesser drivers on the road, Grab says we may see prices increasing even more, particularly during peak hours and rainy weather.
Some initiatives Grab has taken to ease the process include subsidising driver training costs, partnership with Puspakom to extend e-hailing vehicle inspection hours, and subsidising 70% of total driver regulatory compliance cost, among other things.
For those worried about other Grab services like GrabFood and GrabExpress, fret not! The new regulations will only be for private car-hailing services (phew!), namely GrabCar, JustGrab, GrabCar Plus, GrabCar (Premium), etc. Also take note that taxi services on Grab will not be impacted.
Will you be trying out alternative transportation in the meantime?
By: Celestine Foo
