HARESH SAYS: Please help ailing taxi industry
As published in Malay Mail today
HARESH SAYS
By Haresh Deol
WE
sat at the corner of a rather dingy eatery near the former Rothman’s
roundabout in Petaling Jaya. It was there that Kumar shared his taxi
driving tales over some tomyam.
“It’s not pretty … just like this place,” he said, slurping the spicy dish while stray cats stared at us, hoping for a morsel.
In his mid-30s, Kumar is a frustrated man. He thought he could make an honest living as a taxi driver in Kuala Lumpur.
“But I hardly make anything these days,” he sighed.
Kumar
bought a second-hand taxi — a 2010 Proton Saga BLM — from a taxi
company in 2013. He paid a down payment of RM2,500 and his “loan” had
him paying RM47 daily for two years and five months. The daily payment
includes the car loan, driver’s permit fee, installation of a natural
gas vehicle (NGV) tank and insurance.
Once he finishes paying
the loan, the car will be his. But if he plans to continue driving,
Kumar will have to pay RM27 daily as ‘‘rent’’ for a driver’s permit, and
an additional RM2 for the NGV tank.
We quickly did the math.
Kumar’s second-hand cab will cost him RM41,360. The car will finally be
his, but he will only have three options – to sell the car (at a loss),
to utilise it as a private car or to continue driving it as a taxi by
“renting” the permit from the taxi company.
“It’s expensive.
But many are forced to opt for this scheme as they do not have financial
means, are blacklisted by banks or do not have a driver’s permit,” he
said.
“I wish the permits were given to individuals instead of companies.”
But
the government had declared that permits were to be awarded to
companies, instead of individuals, to regulate the industry, I pointed
out.
“Rubbish. If it is regulated, then why are beat-up taxis
still operating? Why aren’t taxi drivers wearing their uniforms instead
of just hanging a white shirt on their seats? Why are cabbies ferrying
passengers without using meters?”
He said cabbies, who are
stationed at the Kelana Jaya LRT station, often charged a flat rate. As
such, commuters either cross to the other side of the road to flag a cab
or get down at Taman Bahagia LRT station to get a taxi from there.
Malay Mail had on numerous occasions highlighted the deplorable condition of taxis and cabbies who refused to use meters.
“I am contemplating becoming a Uber or Grabcar driver. Less hassle and you actually get more passengers.
“Two
years ago, taxis will line up to pick up passengers from condominiums.
Today, you will only see a handful. The rest are mostly private
vehicles. Grabcar is cheaper than taxis, the drivers drive new cars and
just look at the number of drivers on the road,” he said, while showing
me the Grabcar application on his smartphone.
Kumar said he was ashamed with the behaviour of some of his peers who were rude and acted like thugs.
He
said the industry was getting extremely competitive and has no place
for rogue taxi drivers. More drivers are thinking of leaving the trade
if the present state of affairs continue.
“It’s also better
for me to be a Grabcar driver as I don’t have to worry about
inspections, uniforms and I can drive my car out of Klang Valley anytime
without requesting permission from the authorities.”
City cabs are only allowed to operate in the Klang Valley.
It
came as no surprise that cabbies voiced their displeasure against
Grabcar and Uber. Some 500 of them gathered at Padang Merbok on Nov 18,
demanding the government take action against ride-sharing services. They
also demanded the resignation of Land Public Transport Commission
(SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar. The drivers made their way to
Parliament and were greeted by opposition MPs who promised to fight
their cause.
The drivers are tired of being kicked around like
a ball. Klang Valley Taxi Drivers Action Committee president Zailani
Isa Usuludinf was quoted as saying SPAD claimed the Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had the power to shut
these ride-sharing applications. However, MCMC said it was SPAD which
should do it.
The authorities must address this issue by
coming down hard on rogue cabbies and injecting some pride and dignity
into the industry. Taxi drivers are the nation’s “ambassadors”.
Enforcement,
or the lack of it, is the root cause of the issues faced by the
industry. As such, rogue cabbies roam the streets, further bruising the
industry’s image. We don’t need these thugs as they create a wrong
impression about Malaysians. As for ride-sharing services, it is clear
there is a lacuna in the regulations. Competition is healthy and must be
encouraged, but it should be on a level-playing field — across the
board.
If the authorities do not want to rock the boat, then
let’s just forget about the taxis and fixing an already ailing industry.
Just allow Uber and Grabcar to dominate. It will make life easy for
everyone — no regulations, no permits required, no inspections needed —
leaving everyone to their own devices.
Just like the filthy
eatery that violates every single by-law but still operates daily near
the five-foot way where Kumar and I met, no one cares. It has been mere
talk thus far.
Here is a plea on behalf of true blue taxi
drivers — please help the deserving many. Take a cab and listen to their
stories. You will then know why.
HARESH is executive editor of Malay Mail. He can be reached at haresh@mmail.com.my or on
Twitter @HareshDeol
Of course it's easier for the authorities to regulate a few companies compared to thousands of individual drivers. They probably don't care how the drivers are treated and these companies in turn, are only concerned about profits.
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