Fare hike request for Penang taxis wins support
Published: Mar 20, 2007 8:46 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
Consumer and political leaders in Penang have supported a metered taxi fare hike proposed by the Federation of Penang Taxi Drivers Associations, the umbrella body for about 1,500 taxi drivers on the island.
Consumer and political leaders in Penang have supported a metered taxi fare hike proposed by the Federation of Penang Taxi Drivers Associations, the umbrella body for about 1,500 taxi drivers on the island.
However, they said the hike should be implemented on one condition - taxis must use the metered system and abide by all the rules and regulations pertaining to their trade.
Penang Consumer Protection Association (PCPA) president Koris Atan said it was logical that taxi drivers would want an increase in view of the rising cost of living and taxi operations in the state.
"The government should allow the hike. However, the government should also enforce the taxi laws strictly," he said.
Apart from enforcing metered fare, he said the government should also do away with all taxi terminals on the island to ensure that taxis were always on the move as required by the law.
Under a ruling set by the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board, which issues the public service vehicle with operational permits, taxis must always to be on the move.
However, as in the case of metered fare, Penang taxi drivers never complied with the rule. They have been operating from 15 different taxi stations throughout the island.
Numerous complaints
Penang's Citizens Coalition for Public Transportation (Cepat) spokesperson B K Ong blamed the government's weak enforcement as the main reason behind the taxis' continued defiance of metered ruling.
He said government impotency on the issue was evident from the number of complaints from consumers.
A metered taxi system, he said, was crucial to improve the state's overall metropolitan public transport system and tourism industry.
"While it should accept the federation's proposed fare hike, the government should strictly enforce the metered ruling and punish taxi drivers who defy it," he told malaysiakini.
The federation has asked for an additional 20 sen fare for every 100 metres of travel. Under the present system, taxi rates are an automatic RM3 kick-start charge when a passenger boards and 10 sen for each subsequent 150 metres of travel.
Self-regulate
Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) national vice-president and Penang chairperson Gary G V Nair criticised the government for lacking the political will to enforce metered taxi fare.
"If the government enforced the law strictly when metered fare was first introduced 10 years ago, we wouldn't be talking about its implementation now," he said, while supporting the hike.
He said the proposed hike was reasonable due to the escalating cost to maintain and operate taxis in Penang.
Once the government allowed the fare hike, he said taxi drivers should self-regulate themselves to comply with the metered ruling.
He said a fare hike would be pointless if taxi drives continued to flout the law and allow commuters to board taxis only on bargained fares.
He also said the government must get rid of the illegal "sapu" taxis from the streets.
"The taxi drivers should self-regulate while relevant agencies should enforce the law. Otherwise, we would still be talking about implementing metered fare for another 10 years," he said.
However, they said the hike should be implemented on one condition - taxis must use the metered system and abide by all the rules and regulations pertaining to their trade.
Penang Consumer Protection Association (PCPA) president Koris Atan said it was logical that taxi drivers would want an increase in view of the rising cost of living and taxi operations in the state.
"The government should allow the hike. However, the government should also enforce the taxi laws strictly," he said.
Apart from enforcing metered fare, he said the government should also do away with all taxi terminals on the island to ensure that taxis were always on the move as required by the law. Under a ruling set by the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board, which issues the public service vehicle with operational permits, taxis must always to be on the move.
However, as in the case of metered fare, Penang taxi drivers never complied with the rule. They have been operating from 15 different taxi stations throughout the island.
Numerous complaints
Penang's Citizens Coalition for Public Transportation (Cepat) spokesperson B K Ong blamed the government's weak enforcement as the main reason behind the taxis' continued defiance of metered ruling.
He said government impotency on the issue was evident from the number of complaints from consumers.
A metered taxi system, he said, was crucial to improve the state's overall metropolitan public transport system and tourism industry.
"While it should accept the federation's proposed fare hike, the government should strictly enforce the metered ruling and punish taxi drivers who defy it," he told malaysiakini.
The federation has asked for an additional 20 sen fare for every 100 metres of travel. Under the present system, taxi rates are an automatic RM3 kick-start charge when a passenger boards and 10 sen for each subsequent 150 metres of travel.
Self-regulate
Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) national vice-president and Penang chairperson Gary G V Nair criticised the government for lacking the political will to enforce metered taxi fare.
"If the government enforced the law strictly when metered fare was first introduced 10 years ago, we wouldn't be talking about its implementation now," he said, while supporting the hike.
He said the proposed hike was reasonable due to the escalating cost to maintain and operate taxis in Penang.
Once the government allowed the fare hike, he said taxi drivers should self-regulate themselves to comply with the metered ruling.
He said a fare hike would be pointless if taxi drives continued to flout the law and allow commuters to board taxis only on bargained fares.
He also said the government must get rid of the illegal "sapu" taxis from the streets.
"The taxi drivers should self-regulate while relevant agencies should enforce the law. Otherwise, we would still be talking about implementing metered fare for another 10 years," he said.
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