Puspakom ready to inspect cars from Grab and other e-hailers

By THE STAR | 21 February 2019


PETALING JAYA: Puspakom assures the e-hailing industry that it is prepared to inspect e-hailing vehicles nationwide.

The computerised vehicle inspection company said its existing vehicle inspection capacity, operation system, comprehensive infrastructure and extensive inspection network nationwide was ready to undertake the task.

It said it had 56 permanent inspection centres, as well as a fleet of mobile inspection units and over 30 vehicle inspection visiting sites.

According to Puspakom, it had discussed with the authorities on e-hailing vehicle inspection-related matters after the Transport Ministry announced the regulation of e-hailing services.

The company also corrected the estimation made by Grab that it would take up to 20 months to complete the inspection of vehicles involved in e-hailing in the country.

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Puspakom chief executive officer Shukor Ismail said not all e-hailing vehicles were required to undergo the routine inspection.

“Some reports quoted say there are hundreds of thousands e-hailing drivers in the market, but not all e-hailing vehicles must undergo routine inspection – only those vehicles more than three years old are required to perform a routine inspection once every 12 months.

“In other words, the total number of vehicles that need to perform the required inspection could be less than the total number of the vehicles in the market,” he said in a statement.

Shukor added that the introduction of MyPuspakom, an online reservation and payment system, had made it easier for vehicle owners to make an appointment.

“Our customers can make an appointment online at www.mypuspakom.com.my or via the MyPuspakom app before they visit their preferred inspection centre.

“Our customers can come for inspections at the scheduled date and time, reducing their time waiting at the centres.

“We are committed to completing an inspection within an hour from the time the vehicle checks in,” he said.

Shukor also said Puspakom had engaged with some e-hailing operators to offer their mobile inspection services, where Puspakom's vehicle inspectors could go to the location of the vehicle to be inspected.

“This provides flexibility to any party that wants to have their vehicle inspected – they can come to our centres nationwide or we can go to them,” he added.

Shukor said Puspakom would also organise activities, including briefing sessions with e-hailing operators and drivers, to assist them in understanding the inspection issue better.

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