Cabbies hold protest over GrabCar service

PETALING JAYA: Frustration continues to mount as taxi drivers are left waiting for answers over MyTeksi's GrabCar chauffeured service. 

Dozens of cabbies held a gathering outside the MyTeksi office here on Monday to show their dissatisfaction. 

They claimed that these private cars, which offer cheaper fares, had taken away most of their businesses. 

Persatuan Transformasi Pemandu Teksi Malaysia (PERS1M) vice-president Kamarudin Mohd Hussain said the gathering was to seek a reply over a memorandum sent on June 29. 

After waiting for almost two and a half hours, a representative of MyTeksi met the taxi drivers and read out a statement. 

The gist of the statement said that MyTeksi understood the plight of taxi drivers and was open for discussions involving cabbies, MyTeksi, the Transport Ministry and the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD). 

It said that MyTeksi would relook into current laws and regulations that govern both ridesharing services and cabs. 

However, the taxi drivers were still not satisfied and lodged police reports. 

Persatuan Pemandu Teksi Subang Jaya (PPTSJ) secretary Mathavan Subramaniam said he would lodge a police report against MyTeksi over the refusal to repay promotion money for taxi drivers.

“We still respect the law and don't want to take the law in our hands. We will exhaust all avenue. We will take the matter to court,” he added.