PETALING JAYA: An online poll on taxi services has seen a large majority vouching for Uber, GrabCar and other transport apps.The poll, which saw some 46,265 people take part, found that 70.3% of them were in favour of the Government regulating the apps.

It found that 86.1% of the voters used Uber and GrabCar before, and that 71.3% of people found these apps more reliable than taxis.

The survey was set up by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) from Nov 25 to Dec 3.

Taxi drivers claim that Uber and GrabCar are illegal, and have demanded that they be banned.

Instead, SPAD has implied that it may regulate these services, which taxi drivers are not too happy about.

About 64.4% of respondents felt that Uber and GrabCar were affordable, while 59.5% used these apps over taxis because they were accessible.

When it came to taxis, the poll found that voters were overwhelmingly unhappy with drivers overcharging or not using their meters (89.1%).

Some 71.9% of voters were not happy with drivers' attitudes.

To a lesser degree, people had problems with dirty taxis (44.4%).

More than half of voters were not willing to pay higher fares to get better taxi services (58%), or for more taxis during peak hours (56.9%).

Some 69.5% of people preferred to use mobile apps to book taxis, and nearly half (47.7%) liked to use both credit cards and cash to pay for them.

A large minority of people who took part in poll (44.7%) were 21 to 30 years old. Many were working (63.6%).

Their monthly household incomes were quite balanced, though a larger minority were in the RM8,001 and above range.

A smaller poll by SPAD in 2014 found that four out of five people felt it was impossible to get a taxi in bad weather.

At the time, 74% of people said they couldn't get a taxi during peak hours.

Over the past year, taxis and ridesharing services have been locked in a fierce battle over Klang Valley's riders.







