Time to regulate ridesharing services

Ridesharing services are not new in Malaysia. 
I remember way back in 1970s when I was growing up in Johor Baru, they were called kereta sapu or prebet sapu. You share rides with passengers into town in private vehicles. You hail these cars at bus stops (somehow you know how to identify these cars). It will also drop you at the nearest bus stop to your house, not to your doorstep. It did not replace the public transportation services back then. Rather, it complemented them as buses were too few and too far in between. Taxis, too, were scarce. 
The services died a natural death when the public transportation sector improved. Some people still used the services to send their children to schools when school bus services were unavailable in their housing areas. 
These days, the ridesharing services have taken glamorous names like Uber and GrabCar. You can book these door-to-door services via an application on your mobile phone. Rates are a little bit lower than a metered budget taxi. I have not used these ridesharing services, not back then, and not now. 
I have been using public transport since I moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1984. From buses (the mini bus terror rides, high-speed express buses and executive coaches) to taxis (of various shades of colour) and trains (KTM, Komuter, light rail transit and express rail link) to commercial airlines and private planes (turboprops and jets), I have used them all. 
And, for the past 20 years or so, taxis have been my main mode of transport. 
And, if you have been reading the postings on the social media platforms lately, you will notice how the public is raving about Uber and GrabCar. The taxi drivers are being bashed in these postings as if there are no good and honest ones out there. 
Oh well, as the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole barrel. I have never had any major problems with them. Yes, I have had those who asked for fares that are triple the amount showed by the meter, but I make it a point not to board these taxis. Passengers will have to play a part to curb, if not eliminate, the activities of these touts. Do not take taxis whose drivers refuse to use the meter. If you are patient enough, you will find one that uses it. But, if you are a regular taxi user like me, I consider a request for an extra RM5 on top of the metered fare as fair especially when you are caught in a traffic jam. 
And, it is so easy to get a cab from wherever you are now. The MyTeksi app (now lumped into a Grab application) enables you to track the driver before he reaches you and e-mails you a receipt. 
But, of late, my budget taxi driver friends have told me that some of them cannot make ends meet even if they work day and night. Rental charges have gone up. So, too, is the cost of living. Uber and GrabCar are killing their livelihood by offering far lower rates than their metered rides. 
I used to have to join a long queue at the condominium where I live before I can get a cab to go to work, if I do not use the MyTeksi mobile app to call for one. Now, there is a queue of taxis instead. Some of the passengers who normally queue up with me for a cab have switched to private cars. 
Several taxi drivers asked me why I didn’t join them. I am a creature of habit, I told them. But, the simple truth is because of safety. Like the kereta sapu or prebet sapu of old, they are using private vehicles for public transportation. I have yet to muster the courage to put myself in an Uber or GrabCar vehicle because I know I am not protected under the law if anything were to happen to me if I use these services. 
Although the authorities were mulling banning these services, they have yet to regulate them unlike the other public transport services. Why are these ridesharing services allowed to operate in the first place is beyond comprehension. Aren’t they operating illegally? 
While I can understand that these ridesharing services can be the main or second source of revenue for many people, it must be done right. 
It was reported that the Public Transport Users Association recently made several recommendations to the government on regulating the ridesharing services. It suggested that the authorities look into, among others, transparency, driver profiling and insurance. They also asked that the operators take higher liability and ensure safety, as well as be more transparent in their operations and allow the public to assess them. Call centres and complaints management were also issues that need to be addressed. In addition, drivers’ selection process needs to be tightened and they must be tested by the Road Transport Department. Profiling tests should also be conducted for potential drivers. The association said while this may make it slightly more difficult for a person to be a driver, it would reduce the risks to passengers and other road users. It also expects Uber and GrabCar vehicles to be certified and for the companies to provide insurance coverage for passengers in the event of accidents. 
As a hardcore public transport user, I fully support these recommendations. Where public transport services are concerned, passenger safety is paramount.