In an unprecedented move, Uber announces its collaboration with the Gabungan Persatuan and Syarikat-Syarikat Teksi Semenanjung Malaysia (Gabungan, for brevity’s sake), a collective of all taxi associations and taxi companies in Peninsular Malaysia. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will see the two kicking off a pilot programme that allows Gabungan’s best drivers to drive on the Uber network using their taxi vehicles. The programme, aptly known as UberTaxi, comes after a continuous territorial squabble between taxis and the ride-sharing platform.

Approximately 500 of Gabungan’s best drivers and their taxi vehicles will be on-boarded onto the Uber platform. However, this is subject to Gabungan’s drivers meeting Uber’s driver-partner and vehicle requirements; these includes a valid driver’s license, passing the platform’s background check (including relevant insurance information) as well as making the sure that the vehicle is no more than five years old. The pilot is open to all types of taxi vehicles, including sedans and MPVs. Gabungan Taxi drivers may accept street hails when they are not online with the Uber app. Moreover, UberTaxi users can enjoy fare pricing that is based on the UberX fare structure and mechanics, and will include dynamic fares.

“By exploring this collaboration with Uber, we expect our taxi drivers to benefit from enjoying the power of Uber’s technology to efficiently match them to rides. This way, they can potentially earn more money by spending more time earning ride fares, instead of spending time idling and waiting for rides. We certainly want to take on the challenge of improving ourselves to benefit from technology that increased flexibility and exposure to more economic opportunities,” says Dato Hj SM Shalahuddin SM Amin, Gabungan President.

Warren Tseng, General Manager for Uber in Malaysia and Singapore adds: “Uber believes this partnership will provide a tangible demonstration of how giving more people the power of choice at the touch of a button makes things better for all – driver-partners, riders, and the city. We support the government’s intention to improve the overall public transportation landscape and will do our part to ensure a quality experience for all riders and driver-partners. Since launching three years ago, Uber has continually worked to empower give Malaysian riders, driver-partners and cities the power of choice at the touch of a button.”