Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): The Transport Ministry has prohibited the Dego Ride motorcycle taxi service as developed cities do not allow such services, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said Malaysian cities should emulate first world cities like Singapore, Tokyo, London and New York that do not allow such public transportation.

"We want to ensure that our country emulate these developed cities' transportation system so that our country is environmentally friendly and sophisticated.

"We do not want our country to follow the cities that have not been transformed, we want to make our cities to be on par with developed cities," he said in response to a question from Sik MP Dr Mansor Abd Rahman.

Abdul Aziz said the government has also created many transportation options for the public such as monorail, light railway transit (LRT), commuter train service and mass rapid transit (MRT).

The deputy minister said the Dego Ride service was also banned due to rider and passenger safety.

The transport ministry also cited a Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) analysis which found that the risk of motorcyclists being involved in fatal accidents was 42.5 times higher compared to a bus, and 16 times more compared to a car.

Last year, statistics showed that 62% of the 7,152 victims killed on Malaysian roads were motorcycle riders and pillion riders.

"Using the Dego Ride service will lead to more road users being exposed to the risk of fatal accidents and serious injuries," the ministry said in a written reply to Parit Buntar MP Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

Mujahid wanted to know the reasons why the Dego Ride service was not allowed to operate whereas Uber and GrabCar were permitted.

 

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