SEREMBAN: The Transport Ministry will improve goods and food delivery services using motorcycles (p-hailing) especially in ensuring riders' safety in the near future.

Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the improvement would not only involve the riders but also the companies that provide the p-hailing platform.

He said the move was not to trouble any party involved in the gig economy but to ensure riders' safety.

"We don't want to see these riders riding so fast because they want to earn a living, which can endanger themselves," he told reporters after attending the 2023 road safety campaign here, today.

In the meantime, he said the ministry has not decided to approve any motorcycle taxi services as one of the alternatives for public transportation in the country.

Loke said there were requests from local companies to roll out a pilot project for this taxi service but it should be studied in terms of suitability and people's willingness to accept it.

"In Bangkok and Jakarta, it is an acceptable mode of transportation but I think in this country we are not yet prepared to use motorcycles as taxis," he added.

-- BERNAMA