Malaysia ready to discuss cross-border e-hailing implementation with Singapore, says its transport minister

Malaysia's transport ministry is prepared to discuss the implementation of cross-border e-hailing with Singapore, according to transport minister Anthony Loke.

Loke told the Malaysian Parliament on Monday (Aug 18) that Singapore was not ready to discuss the proposal when it was previously raised with former Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.

"This matter cannot be implemented by one party alone, both sides must agree before it can be implemented," Loke was quoted by Bernama as saying.

He explained that any proposal to allow cross-border e-hailing requires in-depth discussions at the government-to-government level.

"We hope to continue these discussions and hope that Singapore will respond positively so that this idea can become a reality," NST quoted him as saying.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) had clarified on Aug 3 that there are no plans to "fully liberalise" ride-hailing services between Singapore and Johor Bahru.

The authority instead said that it hopes to encourage more drivers to take up the cross-border taxi scheme, which allows a licensed fleet of up to 200 taxis from each side to ferry passengers between Singapore and the Johor Bahru.

It is also considering increasing the number of boarding and alighting points in both countries, and the use of ride-hailing apps to book cross-border trips on licensed taxis.

LTA's clarification came after Johor chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi said in a Facebook post that the proposal for a cross-border e-hailing service was discussed during his meeting with Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow on Aug 1.

4 PHVs driven by Singaporeans seized in recent operation

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Loke also addressed a recent enforcement operation to crack down on foreign vehicles providing e-hailing services.

The Road Transport Department (JPJ) had detained and seized four private vehicles driven by Singaporean individuals on Aug 13 and they are still under investigation, he said.

The transport minister described the operation as a "reciprocal approach" to Singapore cracking down on Malaysian vehicles providing illegal ride hailing services here.

"But we hope there is a better long-term solution so...cross-border connectivity can be improved," he said.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com