Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) is firm in its stand of not approving and recognising ride-sharing services like Uber, said its Chairman Datuk Raime Unggi.He said taxi operators in the city met him on Wednesday and submitted a memorandum to the Government through CVLB, urging immediate action to be taken on such services."I have scrutinised the matter with my officers and we found out that Uber does not comply with the existing regulation.
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"It should be stopped immediately and as long as it is against the existing law we can't accept Uber even though we do accept positive feedbacks from its users."But at the end of the day, we have to play by the rules and we have an existing regulation," he said during a breaking-of-fast here.
He added that taxi operators here even suggested that the Uber mobile application be blocked before further action is taken.Admitting that the current public transportation system should be improved, Raime said the Uber issue should be tackled wisely so that it would not create any problem in future.
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The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has proposed the need to legalise Uber and Grabcar to level the playing field for taxi drivers in its Taxi Industry Transformation Programme."In Sabah, CVLB will continue to monitor the current system. We need to understand the concept of Uber.
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"It operates through a mobile application and I see it as an equivalent to 'teksi sapu' (pirate taxis)."The Government has always provided avenues for taxi operators to operate legally."Yes, we can't stop the advancement of technology but we still need to follow the existing rules and regulation in the interest of the users and public transportation operators."Meanwhile, CVLB has reiterated that there will be no hike on express bus fares during the festive season."The rate for express buses in the State and Labuan is based on the gazetted rate on Aug. 1, 2009. The calculation base for the fare was fixed at 13 sen per kilometre."CVLB has instructed the rate be complied with to ensure a uniform fare rate," he said, adding that the maximum fare rate is rarely implemented by express bus operators except during festive seasons.For example, he said, the fare for Kota Kinabalu-Semporna on normal days would be RM50, lower than the rate regulated by CVLB which is RM73.50.
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"As such, most people think that there is an increase in fare during festive seasons when express bus operators implement the actual fare."Nevertheless, the public can forward their complaints and proof to CVLB if they find any irregularity in express bus fares," he said. At the same event, Raime also presented financial aid to As-Sakinah Orphanage and Sri Pritchard Old Folks Home.
