New rule makes GrabCar legal

The government approved a draft ministerial regulation allowing the use of personal cars for ride-hailing taxi services via apps, a boon for GrabCar drivers who were already providing the service without proper legal status since several years before.

The new regulation allows vehicles equipped with up to seven seats that are currently registered as personal cars to double as taxis.

The change was expected to be finalised soon, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said.

While the taxi-hailing app had gained popularity, the law did not recognise owners who use their own vehicles to pick up passengers. Nor did it register the vehicles as taxis, pointed out the minister.

The Department of Land Transport planned to spend about a month drafting an announcement governing how the new regulation would actually be implemented, then hold a public hearing on the issue and have the regulation published in the Royal Gazette, Mr Saksayam said.

Following publication, companies owning taxi-hailing apps would be permitted to apply for licences to operate the new service.

Personal cars registered as taxis for ride-hailing services were divided into small vehicles (e.g. Nissan March, Toyota Vios and Honda City), medium-sized vehicles (e.g. Toyota Altis and Honda Civic) and large vehicles (e.g. Honda Accord and Toyota Fortuner).

Drivers would be required to hold a public transport driving licence, pass a criminal background check by the Royal Thai Police and only use taxi-hailing apps certified by the department.