KUALA LUMPUR: Imbalanced supply and demand, as well as high traffic volume, are among the contributing factors to e-hailing ride's price surge.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said e-hailing companies have seen around 30 per cent drop in their numbers of registered drivers lately, as compared to before the pandemic struck.

He said this was highlighted by e-hailing operators to the ministry and Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) in a discussion, recently.

"We are now witnessing a sudden increase in demand for e-hailing services after the country entered the transition to endemicity phase on April 1. 

"This period also saw a lot more economic activities compared to the height of the pandemic, while daily life returned to some normalcy and expectedly, more traffic congestions as we move more freely these days.

"However, the lack of e-hailing drivers has indirectly led to longer than expected waiting times for a vehicle in some places," he said in a statement, today.

Wee said these factors have had the most effect on fare algorithms employed by the e-hailing operators.

He added that there are also other accompanying factors that play a part in the increased fares including distance, traffic volume, weather patterns as well as supply and demand.

"There are two charges in terms of fare and structure regulations, namely the base charge and surcharge.

"The government does not regulate the base fare and the surcharge cannot be more than two times the base fare, this is taking peak rates and fuel prices into account.

"In this regard, e-hailing operators are permitted to set their fare structures based on their formulas and terms of service with their consumers in a free market," he said.

However, Wee said, e-hailing operators, assured the ministry that they will be allocating more resources towards increasing the number of drivers.

"At the same time, the government will also continue to ensure more e-hailing operators, along with taxis and buses are available to provide commuters with better last-mile connectivity and more choices".

The minister said currently, more than 130,000 individuals are holding vocational licenses to work as e-hailing drivers.

This group, he said, is expected to grow as more driving schools and e-hailing operators receive more candidates for 21 e-hailing companies with active licenses nationwide.

"We at the ministry, urge all e-hailing operators to improve their communication channels with consumers, while we continue to monitor the e-hailing industry to ensure fairness and prevent undue burden on consumers," he said.