TO dishonest taxi drivers, it’s fair game to impose high prices on passengers in need of a ride in foul weather.
Despite efforts by the authorities to clamp down on behaviour such as cherry-picking passengers, commuters like Debra Low still encounter drivers who unabashedly continue with these practices.
“One driver even told me that it was not worth his time to take me because it was only two kilometres away, unless I paid him three times more,” she complained.
But the rollout of the Centralised Taxi Service System (CTSS) – intended to monitor taxi performance – has been delayed to 2016.
According to the 2014 Government Transformation Programme Report, this was caused by a change in the business model, which is designed to help drivers reduce their operating costs.
In the new business model, taxi performance will be benchmarked against those of Singapore, Jakarta and Bangkok in terms of customer satisfaction, enforcement, driver training, vehicle standards and regulation of fares.
Over 3,700 taxis attained these standards last year, totalling 6,960 taxis to date, with a long-term goal of ensuring at least a quarter of all Kuala Lumpur budget taxis achieve those standards.
To reform taxi service under its Taxi Industry Migration Plan, the Land Public Transport Commission also used Teksi 1Malaysia (TEKS1M) which requires operators to adhere to certain standards.
The CTSS is slated to complete construction by the end of this year. Some 1,500 taxis will be fitted with the on-board unit in the first phase of installation.
The system can monitor offences such as non-meter compliance and reckless driving.
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