Could this be Land Public Transport Commission’s (SPAD) way of dealing with competition e.g. Uber, GrabCar?
There’s a SPAD mobile app called MeterOn, which promises to “keep taxi journeys safe”. It allows riders to verify the driver, track the journey, estimate the taxi fare, and send SOS alerts.
The SOS alert feature allows users to send pre-determined messages with full ride details (information of the taxi and driver, current location and destination) to their primary contacts. The feature also permits users to make emergency calls to their primary contact, PDRM, or SPAD Hotline.
Another key feature worth highlighting is a driver verification system that enables potential passengers to perform a check on a driver’s background by entering the taxi’s registration number.
Note: MeterOn covers all licensed taxis throughout Peninsular Malaysia including airport taxis and hired cars.
If the taxi is regstered, users can view the detailed information about the driver and current offences commited by the driver under Land Public Transport Act 2010 (LPTA 2010), and other passengers’ reviews/feedbacks/complaints about the driver.
It also comes with a rating system that allows passengers a more efficient and quicker platform to lodge complaints against errant taxi drivers.
On top of that, MeterOn keeps a record of taxi drivers that you’ve rode with before so if you ever come across a “familiar” not-so-courteous or dishonest driver, you can easily blacklist that driver in your own personal capacity.
MeterOn is available for both Android and iOS smartphones and is adaptable to your phone language; English or Bahasa Malaysia.
We gotta give props to the SPAD for the effort because this integrated and comprehensive database will help you make an informed decision before riding a taxi.
But whether or not this will encourage SPAD to nab errant taxi drivers and solve the common problems that Malaysians often face with rude or dishonest taxi drivers is another question altogether.
For more information, hit up this website.
