KUALA LUMPUR: E-hailing companies said they will work with the government and community to ensure a fair and sustainable environment for drivers.
Grab Malaysia said it would streamline regulations and is committed to fostering economic growth for all Malaysians.
"For our driver-partners, we address this by ensuring they have consistent earning opportunities and fair compensation for each booking.
"Our goal is to efficiently match drivers and consumers with an optimised and competitive price, that is based on the supply and demand of that very moment.
"The fare is also dynamically balanced to meet the timely supply of drivers, road conditions, and other factors.
"We aim to incentivise high service levels, rewarding driver-partners with a strong track record of good reviews and a high trip completion rate by offering priority allocation to minimise their time driving around looking for a booking," it said in a reply to the New Straits Times.
It was reported recently that up to 10 e-hailing drivers quit every day due to the price war between service providers driving down their remuneration.
Grab Drivers Association president Arif Asyraf Ali said although the price war promised benefits for passengers, it saddled drivers with low fares.
Arif said the existing fare structure failed to adequately compensate drivers, rendering the service unsustainable.
Grab said while providing flexible earning opportunities for driver-partners, "we have also invested more in our partners' welfare and regulatory costs over the years".
"Our GrabBenefits, looks into different aspects of our Grab partners' wellbeing.
"Such benefits include free insurance coverage, contribution to the Social Security Organisation and the Employees Provident Fund, upskilling and professional development opportunities and discounts on fuel and vehicle maintenance."
Grab said it protected its driver-partners by compensating for passenger-related incidents, such as late cancellations, no-shows, car cleaning due to drunk passengers, or fare evasion.
Another e-hailing provider Maxim said the company tried its best to create a win-win situation between passengers, drivers and the company by monitoring fares daily.
"In addition, there are several benefits to the partner drivers, namely they get the opportunity to choose the order from the application, a low rate of commission (for the company), as well a monthly campaign with a variety of promotions and rewards, among others.
"We also have various incentives for our drivers. For example, we reimburse the full cost of the e-hailing vehicle permit (EVP) and public service vehicle (PSV) license, which are required to be an e-hailing driver.
"In terms of commission, our commission is lower than other operators, which depends on various factors such as car branding, shift purchase (preferred time to drive), active number of orders in a month and also based on which city they are working."
Maxim said its drivers can earn a living as the service has a good combination of low commission for them and available price for passengers.
"It creates a situation when the drivers are ready to work and passengers are ready to go.
"The company has a system that monitors partner drivers who have problems with the trip, by giving them a lower commission (for the company) for a certain period to gain their positive spirit or personal discussion about the issues and help to solve it together.
"Moreover, the service has an income calculator, so they can understand the approximate amount they can earn.