KUALA LUMPUR: To ensure that motorcycle taxi services (bike hailing) comply with the rules and are safe, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook today personally tested the facility by taking a ride on a Dego Ride motorcycle.
He opted to use the service from the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK) to the Central Market Kuala Lumpur LRT station to check on the Central Market’s Pedestrian Bridge, this morning.
Loke told the media that the 10-minute journey by motorcycle taxi was a surprise check he performed on the service.
"I had to wait for 15 minutes after booking through the app (application), maybe because it is still new, but the rider had apparently complied with the rules during the two-kilometre ride," he told reporters, here, today.
The Dego Ride rider who ferried Loke provided him with a helmet, rode at a moderate speed and obeyed all the rules including stopping at the traffic lights.
Loke explained that surprise checks will be carried out by the ministry from time to time to ensure that those operating the service comply with the law and will not cause any problem.
The ministry will monitor a "pilot project" of the service for six months before any legal framework is in place for the service including the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license requirements for its owners.
"However, companies operating these services must provide insurance coverage for their pillion riders and motorcyclists," he said.
The motorcycle taxi service, Dego Ride, began operation on Jan 1, which is accessible through an application on the smartphone, with the service having about 500 riders in the Klang Valley.
Ride hailing company Grab, is also expected to introduce the motorcycle service, with Gojek, the company that introduced motorcycle taxi services in Indonesia, likely to join too.
"For Gojek, so far they have not opened a company here, so they have not been allowed yet to operate the motorcycle taxi service," he said. — BERNAMA