E-HAILING companies will just have fewer passengers if they choose to hike fares following a drop in the number of drivers due to Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licensing requirements, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said.

“There are no base fares for e-hailing. The ceiling price depends on market conditions.

“And if the fares go up, there will be fewer passengers and more competition. There are other companies who want to do this in Malaysia,” Loke told reporters at Parliament lobby today.

He was responding to queries if the ministry would address a shortage of e-hailing drivers given expectations that about half of them would quit over PSV licencing regulations.

All e-hailing drivers have until July 12 to obtain this license to continue taking fares commercially. 

It was reported that about half of the country’s 170,000 drivers may opt out due to the extra costs to fulfil this requirement.

He was also asked if fares for Grab, the biggest e-hailing company in Malaysia, would increase if there were fewer drivers as a result of the licencing requirement.

Earlier, Loke told Dewan Rakyat that only 10,151 drivers had passed the PSV test as of June 30.

But the minister is confident that more drivers would pass the test and obtain their licence.

“The Road Transport Department is testing drivers every day and we have smoothened the process by sending our invigilators to the different venues.

“There are hundreds taking the tests every day with more than 1,000 to 2,000 attending each day. The number of PSV-licenced drivers is bound to rise,” said the Seremban MP.

Loke said the drivers could also resit the test if they failed the first time.

“I took the test yesterday and passed with 82 marks from 60 questions. I managed to answer 49 of them based on logic.

“If they attend the courses (six-hour class), they will also pass.” – July 2, 2019.