AirAsia Ride plans to increase drivers' headcount to cope with fare surges

"We will not ‘punish’ our passengers to pay double or triple of their normal fares even when there is a shortage of drivers on service," Lim Chiew Shan, Regional CEO, AirAsia Ride, reiterated.

AirAsia Ride, a subsidiary of aviation company AirAsia, plans to increase its headcount of drivers by year-end as a mean to ensure fairer fares for both riders and drivers amidst fare surges. This, according to Bernama's report, was implied by internal stakeholders during the company's drivers’ gathering and press conference event at its headquarters in SetiaWalk Mall.

Lim Chiew Shan, Regional CEO, AirAsia Ride, at the event, shared that e-hailing fares in the market have "evidently been spiking in recent weeks", while pointing out that AirAsia Ride's fares have "always been fair for both drivers and customers". He attributed the development to the market being "fully reopened" in Malaysia, and economic activities "going back to pre-pandemic levels" - all of which contributed to fare surges exacerbated by, for instance, traffic jams across major highways during peak hours. The surges, Lim believed, was also propagated as many drivers "have been less active as they might have found another career".

That said, he added AirAsia Ride is "very happy" about drivers' alternative careers, and "glad to have been able to help provide them with an alternative income opportunity in their times of need".

On that note, Lim explained that to cope with such circumstances, AirAsia Ride’s fare policy will "remain as before". "We will not ‘punish’ our passengers to pay double or triple of their normal fares even when there is a shortage of drivers on service.

"We always believe that fares have to be fair to both passengers and drivers to achieve a win-win situation, and we will make sure the fare surge, when it occurs, will be able to cover the extra time in traffic for our drivers during peak hours. Fares on AirAsia Ride are set based on fair pricing, which considers what our passengers can afford while fairly compensating drivers for any extra travel time caused by heavy traffic", he said.

The event, other than Lim, was graced by Capital A's Executive Chairman Kamarudin Meranun, and Group CEO Tony Fernandes where "top performing drivers" were rewarded with special gifts from Airasia Ride’s driver benefit partners such as Shell Malaysia, and Liqui Moly.

At the same time, a statement shared that AirAsia Ride has recently reached a milestone 1mn completed rides with the help of 30,000 registered drivers. Those in Malaysia who are keen on joining its gig workforce can look forward to 90% off unlimited AirAsia flights, approximately RM4,000 in monthly income, and RM200 per week in extra incentives.

Also read: Complementary health screening for specific PERKESO contributors in Malaysia, effective 1 June 2022

Image / AirAsia

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