THE too-large commission ride-hailing companies take for each ride is the number one grouse of drivers, says a survey.

A web-based survey on e-hailing drivers held by the DAP Parliament research team found that 75% of 297 drivers polled felt the commission Uber and Grab charged was unfair, and more than 60% wanted the government to regulate the commission rate the e-hailing companies were allowed to charge.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said a bill that the government proposed to table in the next Dewan Rakyat session to amend laws to regulate the industry did not deal with the relationship between the drivers and e-hailing companies.

The bill also does not ensure an avenue for the drivers to channel their complaints in cases where they are unfairly treated, he said. 

“For instance, the fare is too low to the extent that even though petrol prices have increased over the past six months, the fare for Grab and Uber cars has actually dropped per kilometre.

“Secondly (there is) the issue of very high commission rate charged by Uber and Grab,” Ong said, adding that Uber and Grab charged 25% and 20%, respectively, for each paid fare. 

Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong urged Putrajaya to take the plight of the e-hailing drivers into consideration before tabling its proposed amendments to two laws to regulate e-hailing services in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting. 

While the proposed amendments to the Land Public Transport Act 2010 and the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board Act 1987 are a step in the direct direction, he said, the bill focused only on licensing. 

“The government has a role to play so that the bill must not just deal with the companies but it eventually has to regulate and protect the interests of the drivers and passengers. 

“There is a need for the government to plan and think long term. The bill must not just create a dual poly of Grab and Uber, which is the case at the moment,” Liew said in a press conference at DAP headquarters. 

He said the bill must provide a level playing field for everyone in the industry, including taxi drivers. 

“When conflict arises between the companies and drivers as well as passengers, government has a role to play in the form of tribunal or arbiter in general.”

Among others, the government should consider setting up a tribunal to hear the appeals of drivers who may have been unfairly being banned or suspended; prevent a monopoly/oligopoly of the e-hailing sector; and regulate the commission rates the e-hailing companies charge the drivers.

DAP’s survey estimated that the average monthly wage for a full-time driver was around RM3,200. 

“While this may seem like a decent amount of earnings, it does not take into account the maintenance cost of the vehicles, which can average more than RM1,000 a month,” said Ong.

He said the government’s end goal should be a market whereby taxi drivers as well as e-hailing drivers are properly compensated, and the “taxi companies and e-hailing companies cannot abuse their oligopolistic/monopolistic positions to mistreat the drivers and give passengers a bad service experience”. 

The “Self-employed e-hailing drivers” survey also found that 40% of Uber and Grab drivers are driving full-time and 53% part-time; 64% have at least a diploma, which indicates that many with tertiary qualifications look at the e-hailing as a viable form of employment; and 34% of e-hailing drivers surveyed are based outside the Klang Valley. – July 6, 2017.