DEGO Ride is back in business as the first two-wheel e-hailing service to get approval to start operations in Malaysia, commencing operations in the Klang Valley today.

Founded by Nabil Feisal Bamadhaj, the motorcycle hailing service started operations in 2016 before being banned in 2017.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said Dego is all set to create 5,000 jobs for riders with salary ranging between RM1,500 and RM3,500.

He also lauded the ride hailing service’s initiative to provide employment opportunities for B40 youths with motorcycles.

“January 1, 2020 is a historic day. This is the start of motorcycle ride hailing in Malaysia,” he said at the launching ceremony of Dego’s operations centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

Dego obtained the approval from the Land Public Transport Agency yesterday. 

The proof of concept period, which is to test the viability of the service, is slated to last until the end of June this year.

Nabil said potential riders will have to be aged 18 and above, have full licences and insurance and owns a motorcycle of 150cc and above.

However, modified motorcycles will not be allowed.

“More than 4,000 riders have registered but we were only able to approve 750 accounts for today and tomorrow. We will scale up the approval process soon.

“We have a lot of female riders but we are encouraging more to come on board because most passengers who want to use our service are women,” he said.

On concerns of proximity, Nabil said male riders will serve male passengers while female riders will serve female passengers. 

“There are a lot of women who work at malls and retail areas, and they finish work at 12am. They need to go home safely and not rely on just their friends and other expensive modes of transport. So we hope to help them that way,” he added.

Dego Ride will operate round the clock. 

On expansion plans, Nabil said he is looking to extend the services beyond Klang Valley within the next three months. – January 1, 2020.