Loke told the media that he booked the ride through the Dego Ride app on his mobile phone.
“I had to wait for 15 minutes after booking through the app, maybe because it is still new, but the rider had apparently complied with the rules during the 2km ride,” he said.
The rider who ferried Loke provided him with a helmet, rode at a moderate speed and obeyed all the rules including stopping at the traffic lights, Loke said.
Further surprise checks would be carried out by the transport ministry to ensure that those operating the service comply with the law and will not cause any problem.
Dego Ride has begun a “proof of concept” trial service for six months.
Loke said the ministry will monitor the service before any legal framework is in place, including a requirement of a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence for motorcycle owners.
“However, companies operating these services must provide insurance coverage for their pillion riders and motorcyclists,” he said.
The motorcycle taxi service began operations on Jan 1, with about 500 riders in the Klang Valley.
Ride hailing company Grab, is reported to have begun trials in the central Kuala Lumpur area, while Gojek, the Indonesian company that introduced motorcycle taxi services is likely to join in too.
“For Gojek, so far they have not opened a company here, so they have not been allowed to operate the motorcycle taxi service,” he said.
Loke also made a surprise visit to Kuala Lumpur railway station, after inspecting a pedestrian bridge at Central Market and expressed dissatisfaction that three out of four ticket machines for the KTM Komuter service were not functioning.
“It is extremely shameful and reflects a bad image of public transport, especially in this new year, with the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign. This situation is extremely unacceptable,” he said.
Loke urged the top management of the public transport providers including Prasarana, MRT Corp and KTMB to go to the ground to solve problems.
“I know a lot of issues, especially on ticketing, KTM (had) a lot of complaints on ticketing, on services and all that from time to time, we have to upgrade.
“No point for us to have big projects, spend billions of ringgit to upgrade the tracks, upgrade the station, but in terms of the services to public we are far behind,” he said.