Taxi Industry Does U-Turn, Now Wants To Work With Uber To Save Themselves
Local taxi companies and the popular ridesharing service will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as soon as this week.
By John Lim — 07 Mar 2017, 12:27 PM
In an unexpected turn of events, local taxi companies are looking to establish an unlikely alliance with Uber to help the dying taxi industry
Around 500 cabbies will take part in an Uber pilot stage that's set to take place next month
“This will allow the taxi industry and Uber to coexist, especially since SPAD has given Uber the green light to operate.
It would benefit taxi drivers to share a platform with Uber, whose strong reach would enable them to earn more,” said Big Blue Taxi Services founder Shamsubahrin Ismail as quoted by FMT.
The companies are also in the midst of overhauling their business models since Uber and other ridesharing services are largely conducted using cashless transactions
"We have to move fast since e-hailing will be regulated soon after the law amendment in Parliament this month.
However, we will continue to operate as metered cab operators. But if a taxi driver decides to take bookings via Uber, then the cabbie has to follow the fare rate set by Uber, whether it is lower or higher than the current regulated fare by SPAD," said a taxi company managing director.