SPAD denies GrabCar, Uber rebranding

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has denied any efforts to rebrand Grabcar and Uber to allow the ride-hiring services to operate legally in the country.

SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said such talks are not true and can confuse the public over the ride-sharing services.

“This is an inaccurate report.SPAD has no plans to rebrand Uber and GrabCar,” he said in a press conference at the SPAD’s headquarters, today.

He was commenting on Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan statement on an online portal, claiming such a move would be unnecessary and worrisome.

The Cabinet recently approved the legalisation of Uber and GrabCar after a presentation by Mohd Azharuddin who had proposed an overhaul of the traditional taxi industry.

Eleven initiatives were laid out including a proposal to transform the industry with improvement to the Teksi 1Malaysia model, and providing individual taxi permits to drivers with clean track records.

On June 18, SPAD announced that in its Taxi Industry Transformation Programme proposal to the government, among others, clarified on the need to allow under the law the Uber and GrabCar services and to level the playing field for taxi drivers.