This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 2, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Grab Malaysia has seen a decline in new driver sign-up on the e-hailing platform, a result of new regulations announced by the transport ministry, according to its country head Sean Goh.

The new regulations, announced by Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook last month, requires e-hailing services to be subjected to the same rules as taxis, especially for licence registration, vehicle inspection and operational requirements.

Loke announced that the brands of vehicles used for e-hailing services must be ranked at least three stars on the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (Asean NCAP) or equivalent.

He also said e-hailing companies must register with the Companies Commission of Malaysia or the Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia, and ensure vehicles undergo inspections annually if they are above three years old.

Goh said in uncertain times now, the platform must endure a slight slowdown in terms of interest. “The challenge we are seeing is drivers, especially part-time drivers, are now discouraged from signing up. We are hoping to alleviate the situation by ensuring people that the changes are going to be gradual and we are going to guide them through the changes,” he told reporters after meeting with the Council of Eminent Persons yesterday.

Goh said over 80% of its drivers are part-timers trying to earn a supplementary income from Grab. Therefore, Grab drivers are more susceptible to regulatory changes.

“So, our focus is really to make sure it will be as easy and cheap as possible for our drivers to sign up. For insurance, we want to ensure we have a few options available before we recommend the best option to our drivers based on their driving patterns,” he said.

On the number of Grab vehicles that will be required for inspection, Goh admitted that it is “substantial”, without revealing the exact figure.

“A substantial number of our vehicles are above three years [old]. That is why it is very important that we make sure things go as smoothly as possible when there is an inspection policy,” he said.

“One thing we are grateful for is we have been given a grace period of one year to ensure everything is in place, so we don’t disrupt people’s livelihoods too much.”