Taxi and bus fares up soon
Barely 2 days after the government announced that they will lift the subsidies for flour, sugar and bread, today, they are saying that taxi and bus fares will be up too. Read it here.
It is reported that the increase is between 30% to 50%. Holy cow! That is huge! The starting fare for taxis will be RM3 instead of RM2 for the first kilometre, and from 10 sen to 13 sen for every subsequent 150m. And you’d better pray you will not be in a jam because for every 27 seconds you are in there, you will be paying 13 sen. Previously, it was 10 sen for every 45 seconds. You do the math on this.
Someone please tell me why we have to pay more for taxis which are old, smelly, with rude drivers, with dangerous drivers, dirty seats and an engine which sounds like it will break down any second. Why? Why? Why? Every (unfortunate) time I have to be in a taxi, I imagine all the germs that has gotten on me, not to mention the oil stains left by the many passengers before me.
This guy in the Prime Minister’s Department please lay out your reasons for agreeing to this increase. Apparently this was told after he had a dialogue with the taxi operators and associations. I am sure some genius in there would have said that the taxi drivers are not earning enough, that their cost is not covered, etc.
Well, this seems to be a chicken and egg issue right? Clean up your act and you will see many more people jumping into your cab. Have polite drivers who take personal hygiene serioiusly and I am sure we would not mind being in the car with you. I honestly would not mind paying more IF our taxis are more bearable.
The article also mentioned that the taxi companies have problems buying insurance policies for their vehicles. Currently the insurance companies collect RM400mil a year in premiums and have to pay out RM2bil in claims. If you were the insurance company, would you still continue to sell the policies to them?
Rather than blaming on the insurance companies, have a look within. Have you encountered a situation where the damn taxi driver was trying so very hard to squeeze by you when they are exiting a junction? Or at the traffic lights? Or what about the many taxi drivers who show you fingers and other profanities when you do not break the rules like them? All these actions shows that the drivers are very high risk individuals who will potentially land themselves in an accident. So, who in their right mind will want to sell them insurance?
And what will happen when the RONs go up in price in September? More hikes?
Arghh, I am so pissed right now. Malaysia truly boleh!
This post has 2 comments
June 4th, 2009
Sooner rather than later the taxi drivers will find themselves passenger-less and earning even less than before this hike. This move is actually suicidal. Let’s watch their fate…
June 5th, 2009
Yes, I also think that the number of passengers will drop when this is implemented. And I really do not think that the taxi drivers will see that they are partly to be blamed too for the shoddy service and dreadful taxis they have.