Taxis operating at tourist hotspots like the Lot 10 shopping mall refuse to use the meter, insisting on a flat rate instead. — Picture by Azneal IshakKUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — With the recent announcement of increased taxi fares, one would think haggling with a cabbie would be a thing of the past.
Sadly, rogue taxi drivers continue to dominate tourist hotspots here, charging flat rates which are double the price of the new rates.
In a two-day exercise last week, Malay Mail visited several areas where taxi drivers were known to charge flat rates instead of using the meter. They included Petaling Street, Bukit Bintang, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and KLCC.
Our findings were no different to a similar exercise in September last year.
Our photographer Azneal Ishak was also forced to pay RM38 for a 400m journey after he sat in an orange taxi at Petaling Street. The driver insisted it was a “two-way taxi” and Azneal was required to pay the full sum, which he learnt only after the taxi started moving.
Azneal explained he did not have enough money and paid RM20 before he was chased out of the cab.
Posing as college students, we flagged down 31 taxis during the exercise. Four refused to drive to the intended destination (Bukit Bintang and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman) between 3pm and 5.30pm because of traffic congestion. Two taxi drivers wanted to charge between RM20 and RM30 from Lot 10, Bukit Bintang to Central Market, 3km away.
Fourteen had yet to recalibrate their meters, charging the old fares while only two had their meters calibrated with the new fare structure.
Nine others refused to use the meter, charging a flat rate instead.
Their excuses for not using the meter were ironic. It ranged from “long lines to recalibrate the meter” to “high cost involved”.
A driver said: “I have not changed my meter so I will hike the price a little at the end of the journey.”
Another taxi driver, who drove from Petaling Street to Lot 10, said: “I need the extra money to cover the cost to recalibrate the meter. Once my meter is recalibrated, I will use it.”
However, there was no meter in the taxi and the driver charged a flat rate of RM15 for the 3km journey.
A taxi driver also revealed that some passengers opted not to use the meter.
“Passengers pick and choose when to use the meter. They prefer a flat rate for long journeys as it is cheaper. So, if they can choose, why can’t I?” he said.
Some failed to display their driver profiles on the dashboard while others stopped for passengers in the middle of the road.
The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) had on March 19 announced new taxi rates for budget taxis and Teksi 1Malaysia (TEKS1M). The last time such revision took place was in 2009.
Under the new fare structure, the flag-down rate for taxis in Kuala Lumpur remains the same, at RM3, but the distance fares for budget taxis increased from 10 sen for 115m to 25 sen per 200m. The distance fare for TEKS1M is now 30 sen for 200m
Budget taxis on the move will charge 25 sen for 36 seconds compared to 10 sen for 21 seconds in the old fare structure.
While the announcement brought cheers to taxi drivers, SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal warned that they would not tolerate unscrupulous taxis following the fare raise and those caught not using the meter would be heavily reprimanded.
“We will suspend them for a minimum of one month and if the driver does it again, we will revoke his licence altogether,” he said.
No enforcement officers were seen during our exercises in September and last week.
This is what we paid during our two-day exercise:
Taxis using the old meter:
1. KLCC to Lot 10 RM5
2. KLCC to Lot 10 RM7
3. KLCC to Lot 10 RM5
4. KLCC to Pavilion RM4
5. Pavilion to KLCC RM3.70
6. Lot 10 to KLCC RM5.60
7. Lot 10 to Petaling Street RM4.60
8. Lot 10 to Petaling Street RM5.00
9. Lot 10 to Petaling Street RM5.00
10. Lot 10 to Central Market RM8
11. Central Market to Sogo RM5.50
12. Sogo to KLCC RM5.50
13. Sogo to KLCC RM7.50 (orange taxi)
Taxis using the new meter:
1. Petaling Street to Lot 10 RM4
2. Lot 10 to Central Market RM10
Taxis charging a flat rate:
1. KLCC to Lot 10 RM20
2. KLCC to Lot 10 RM20
3. Petaling Street to Lot 10 RM15
4. Petaling Street to Lot 10 RM38
(orange taxi)
5. Petaling Street to Lot 10 RM 15
6. Lot 10 to Central Market RM20
7. Lot 10 to KLCC RM10
8. Lot 10 to KLCC RM8
9. Central Market to Sogo RM15
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