WITH the public complaining over e-hailing service Grab charging exorbitant prices for its rides, UMNO urged the National Action Council on Cost of Living (NACCOL) to act on the matter.

“NACCOL must be upgraded in terms of membership, enforcement and others. It’s time for the council to get its act together and work towards reducing cost of living.

“And what is decided by the council must be informed to the public for transparency,” its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Facebook.

On July 17, several people took to social media to vent their frustration over a recent price hike for their usual Grab rides nearly double the rate during regular hours.

Unhappy passengers have reported a recent price hike for their usual Grab rides to nearly double the rate during regular hours.

One passenger claimed a ride home that normally costs around RM14 had recorded an increase of up to RM26.30.

“Metered taxi is about to make a comeback. Time to lessen the demand for GrabCar. The usual charge for a ride back home was RM14,” Malaysiakini reported the person as saying.

Another passenger shared how a ride to work which would take around 10 minutes increased from a maximum of RM6 to RM10.

This had resulted in the daily commute to work costing almost twice as much for many using the e-hailing service.

Cost of living rising

Touching on the matter, Zahid alleged that many have complained that Grab had increased its fares not only for rides during peak hours but also for normal hours.

He added the people use Grab e-hailing services as it was considered a public transport and cheaper in the past. However, they did not expect its rates to be hiked up to that much.

“With rising cost of living, the Government must come up with better mechanism to control the fares charged by e-hailing services so that it would not burden consumers and its drivers.

“Apart from Grab fares, Putrajaya must also get cracking on rising food prices and resolve it soon. Any price increase in transport services would eventually affect cost of living too.

“And we need middle and long-term solutions for this,” the former deputy prime minister quipped. – May 21, 2022

https://focusmalaysia.my/rising-grab-fares-what-is-cost-of-living-council-doing-zahid-asks-putrajaya/