THE Transport Ministry has yet to receive any application from intermediary businesses interested in providing bike-hailing services in the country, said its minister, Anthony Loke yesterday.

He said the ministry, through the Land Public Transport Agency, will accept any application, whether it is from local or foreign companies.

“So far, there are no applications, but I am confident that several companies will be interested. It does not matter whether they are local or international companies, as long as they are registered under the Companies Commission of Malaysia, they can (apply to) operate,” he said.

He said this after the agreement-signing ceremony to develop a plot of land at Lot 151, Section 54, Kuala Lumpur, between the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) and LTS Skyline Sdn Bhd.

Last Tuesday, Loke had announced that the government has agreed to allow intermediary businesses interested in providing bike-hailing services to carry out pilot runs or “Proof of Concepts” (POCs) in Kuala Lumpur for a period of six months beginning January 2020.

Loke had said that the government’s main purpose in introducing bike-hailing services was to increase the coverage of public transport in the country.

Meanwhile, he said the unlimited RM100 monthly travel pass introduced early this year would be continued next year as part of continuous efforts to encourage people to use public transport.

He said since the incentive was launched, there had been a significant increase in the number of rail service users, especially for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), which reached 210,000 users a day compared with 150,000 without the pass. – Bernama, November 9, 2019.