DEGO Ride’s two-wheel taxi service is scrambling to meet the Transport Ministry’s guidelines before rolling out its operations next year, said the founder of the motorcycle e-hailing service provider.

Nabil Feisal Bamadhaj told The Malaysian Insight they were taken by surprise with Putrajaya’s approval to allow bike-hailing services.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Putrajaya will allow a six-month trial for the bike-hailing service in the Klang Valley, starting in January.

He told Parliament that companies wishing to take part in the trial must register with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) and the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) to participate.

“We are truly surprised by this development and have a lot to do in order to meet the Transport Ministry’s guidelines to relaunch our own home-grown motorcycle taxi services.

“What’s important now is the public, who will be able to access our taxi hailing services reliably,” Nabil told The Malaysian Insight.

Loke said the six-month, proof-of-concept (POC) pilot programme will allow the government and participating firms to gather data and evaluate demand for the service, while Putrajaya works on drafting legislation to govern bike-hailing.

Dego Ride has yet to finalise the charges for its service and will share them once completed but referred to its earlier rates before the ministry ordered it to hit the brakes on the service.

“As a reference we used to charge a minimum of RM3 for 3km followed by RM1 per km. We will share it once we have finalised it.”

The company hopes to see its bikes on the road early next year and will be discussing the details of the POC with the agencies involved, Nabil said.

“We need more details of the POC. We will then work together with the ministry and APAD to finalise our service.”

Malaysian company Dego Ride, which focuses on deliveries and logistics, previously offered two-wheeled rides before the service was banned in 2017.

The company, which used to have 5,000 riders, was hopeful of restarting the service, following the cabinet’s announcement earlier that Indonesian logistics start-up Go-Jek, which also utilises motorcyclists, will be allowed into Malaysia.

The proposal for Go-Jek’s expansion was made by Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who said the service could help local youth gain employment.

Syed Saddiq was panned for not promoting Dego Ride, which was already operating and had its two-wheel taxi service banned by the previous government over safety concerns.

Following the cabinet’s announcement, Dego Ride restarted operations in August but that only lasted for six hours before Putrajaya ordered it to cease operations, again citing safety concerns.

Though short-lived, the service saw brisk business, Nabil said.

He said there were many calls from Johor to Penang and the Klang Valley. People also called to enquire why they had stopped.

Riders of the two-wheel taxi service must be over the age of 18 and possess a full licence. Only one passenger is allowed to be transported at a time.

The bikes must have clear markings to indicate the rider is involved in the bike-hailing service, while the riders must also be dressed to indicate they are in the business.

Nabil said that all their riders are above the age of 18 and they will look into adopting corporate attire. – November 6, 2019.