KL taxi drivers told to behave

KL taxi drivers told to behave

By Reme Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Long the scourge of the hapless commuter, taxi drivers in Kuala Lumpur are being served notice by the government and the public to clean up their act.

Accusations of taxi drivers overcharging, intimidating and bypassing local and foreign passengers have filled the pages of local newspapers in recent weeks, led by the New Straits Times, a pro-government daily.

Government officials, after years of spotty enforcement, have made a series of announcements on improving services, including a "courtesy and discipline" course for taxi drivers.

In addition, drivers have been told to don "clean and smart" clothes of white shirts and dark trousers while on the road.

Road Transport Department director-general Pahamin Rajab warned that taxi drivers could lose their taxi licences in 1997 if they refuse to use their meters or take passengers.

"Enough is enough. We will consider a more harsh approach and no longer give them warnings before taking action against them," Pahamin said.

The spotlight fell on the 11,300 taxis operating in and around Kuala Lumpur just as the city's first of four light rail systems was launched in early December, in the midst of worsening traffic conditions.

The government is also scheduled to retire the inefficient services of the city's 800 pink mini-buses by January 1, 1998. The independently-run buses will be replaced by a single bus company in the hopes of raising efficiency.

Tales of taxi tyranny abound.

Australian tourist Richard Old wrote to the New Straits Times that he was given various quotes from cabbies when trying to get from his city hotel to nearby Chinatown.

"A three ringgit ($1.20) metered fare... was variously quoted 'off-the-meter' as five ringgit during off-peak traffic, 10 ringgit during peak traffic hours and 20 ringgit if it happened to be raining," he said in a letter published in October.

Some people said they had opted to drive themselves in the city's traffic-clogged streets after nasty experiences with taxi drivers.

"I would rather be caught in a jam in the comfort of my car than be abused and cheated by people who have less brain than my pet goldfish," Brian Kumaran said in a letter to a local newspaper.

One taxi driver asked a foreign female passenger for sex instead of a fare, the New Straits Times reported in December.

To encourage taxis to take passengers into the city during the bumper-to-bumper peak hours, the government in mid-December raised taxi fares.

But this has also raised the ire of the public who argue that services should be first improved.

"The plan (to raise fares) can be considered successful only if taxi drivers stop overcharging and cheating, and take passengers where they want to go, regardless of the time of day," New Straits Times editor Abdul Kadir Jasin said in a weekly column in December.