Driver Profile and Travel Distance among e-Hailing Drivers: An Exploratory Study

The Land Public Transport Act 2010 and Commercial Vehicle Act 1987 have been used in the enforcement of E-hailing services in Malaysia. E-hailing is a process of ordering transportation to ride from one origin to a particular destination. As the demand for this service has escalated and the number of registered drivers has subsequently increased, the exposure on the road of e-hailing drivers is an area that commands investigation. This study aims to analyse the distance travelled by e-hailing drivers and to identify their profile. The daily trip of an e-hailing driver was explored. A questionnaire was developed and administered via face-to-face interview to one hundred (100) e-hailing drivers in the Klang Valley area of Malaysia. The questionnaire contained two parts: i) driver profile and ii) trip diary. The results showed that most of the drivers were males, with an average age of 37 years. Almost half of the participants (42.9%) had studied up to secondary education, and 32% were part-time e-hailing drivers. The spatial distribution of origin and destination location was concentrated in the city area. The distance travelled during weekdays and weekends was almost the same, but the trips were different. The average number of weekday trips was six, while during the weekend it was four. In both categories (weekdays and weekends), almost half of the trips were of a distance less than 5 km. The distance travelled per day for part-time drivers was between 50 km to 60 km, and for full-time drivers between 70 km to 90 km. This study can be used as a pilot investigation for future wider e-hailing research projects.