Another 300 taxi drivers receive individual licences

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) on Wednesday handed over 300 individual taxi licences to a second group of qualified taxi drivers whose lease agreement had ended.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, who presented the licences to 157 taxi drivers and 143 hired vehicle drivers here, said the licences were given to resolve issues and complaints over the leasing system which had long burdened the drivers.

She said 43 of the licensees also received government cash grants of RM5,000 each to help with the purchase of a new vehicle.

Nancy said under the Taxi Industry Transformation Program (TITP), the licensees had undergone a strict screening process conducted by SPAD in collaboration with the Royal Malaysia Police and Road Transport Department, apart from meeting the commission's licensing requirements.

"TITP is aimed at resolving long standing structural issues besetting the taxi industry to create a fair playing field that will benefit divers, operators and passengers," she said in her speech at the presentation ceremony.

On March 31, former SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar presented 300 licences to the first group of qualified drivers who were among 3,007 drivers who had submitted their applications to SPAD since August 2016.

-- BERNAMA