Uber drivers can't operate tours: Motac
Published on: Thursday, June 23, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Tourism and Culture Ministry (Motac) Director Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar warned it will not hesitate to charge operators of ride-sharing services like Uber if they are found to be operating illegal tours. However, tourists who engage services like Uber just to get from point A to point B such as from the airport to the hotel are not doing anything illegal under the Tourism Industry Act.The common concern over Uber is when the popular service is engaged for tours, similar to illegal tour buses, as there are concerns over their safety during the journey.
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In that sense, Uber is the least of Motac's concerns at present, Ahmad Zaki said, adding they were more easily identified compared to the illegal tour operators using licensed tour vans, often referred to as "white vans". "If the tour operators opt for Uber they still cannot run away from the law … Motac also conducts checks on private vehicles and this makes it hard for them (illegal tour operators) to cover their business," he told the Daily Express. Ahmad Zaki said checking on private cars is also part of the Motac enforcement to cut down illegal tour operations. He said what makes it tough for Motac is when illegal tour operators engage licensed tour buses to fix tours and also hire licensed tour guides for excursions.
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And in some instances, Ahmad Zaki said tourist guides were also blamed for fixing illegal tour packages, adding that it is also this group of individuals who are likely to engage Uber as a cover for their illicit business. He noted in the past Motac had stopped private car owners during roadblocks.
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Meanwhile, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) reiterated its call on the authorities to regulate Uber. Its Vice President Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the service being unregulated and operating outside the ambits of law is giving a hard time to legitimate operators who paid for their licences. "Commercially the situation is on an uneven playing field. We have overheads to maintain like staff costs, taxes, licensing costs and other operating costs. "While, Uber has nil and also can be part time drivers and opportunists, licensed operators are targeted by law enforcers," he said. Taxi operators and bus drivers are required to obtain the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence and are subject to annual medical examinations and vehicle inspections every six months, Tan said, adding Uber on the other hand does not make this mandatory for its drivers. He noted the use of such ride-hailing apps also poses a risk to passengers, saying that criminals could gain access to use such facility and rob their passengers and Uber can only take action against bad drivers after a complaint is lodged. "A concerted effort must be made by government agencies to regulate this app as well as any online businesses, to protect consumers and licensed operators," said Tan, adding that the industry is prepared for fair competition, but not the illegal mechanisms set up by those behind Uber. Tan noted the legal status of ride-hailing apps has been a matter of contention, not only in Malaysia, but also abroad.SPAD had previously said Uber and GrabCar were legal, as "service matching" businesses but the manner they operate is not. He said a French court fined California-based Uber and two of its executives for operating an illegal transport service with non-professional drivers in the first of such case in Europe on June 9 and the court ordered Uber to pay RM3.7 million, though half of the fine was suspended. The court also found Uber Europe, Middle East and Africa director Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty and Uber France manager Thibaud Simphal, guilty of deceptive commercial practices and being accomplices in operating an illegal transport service.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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