Will the taxi service in Kuala Lumpur ever improve?

The headline “Taxi drivers not using meters nothing new” in a letter to the editor is a fact of life in Kuala Lumpur. The writer mentioned his experience when working in the city in the mid-90s and  he is taken aback that nothing has changed during his recent visit.

The mid-90s until now would cover a period of at least 20 years and since the situation has remained the same, is there any hope at all that it will change in the immediate future? The chances of an improvement in the service seems very dim even with the recent tyre subsidy and personal accident scheme under the Teksi Rakyat 1Malaysia (TR1Ma) programme.

Has any officers from the Land Transport Commission (SPAD) gone to the ground and tried using the taxis in Kuala Lumpur?

Anyone going down the staircase at KL Sentral towards the area where the buses and taxis are waiting for passengers would be able to see and hear the haggling that continues between the taxi drivers and their potential customers. The same scene is repeated at many other taxi stands eg, Pasar Seni, KLCC and the LRT stations.

That has not stopped even with the no haggling and metered taxi stickers plastered on the taxi doors. Those notices are just for display after so much promise that the situation will improve after the grand launch of the stickers. The majority of taxis have that sticker but it does not mean anything.

Passengers are usually advised to just open the door and get into the taxi when they are successful in attracting the attention of the taxi driver that is driving along a road. Unfortunately, in reality the passenger will be asked first where is his destination and if it is to the agreement of the taxi driver, then and only then can the passenger get inside the taxi.

Most often the passengers will try to persuade the taxi driver to take them to their destination even if he is at first reluctant to do so. That is the time when the bargaining starts. The fare quoted would be at least double the metered fare as the taxi driver knows that even after bargaining, he will still make a profit.

I've also never understood why the traffic conditions has been used umpteen times as an excuse not to take passengers to a certain destination. The traffic conditions in Bangkok and Jakarta is worse but the taxi drivers still take the passengers and use the meter.

I do not foresee any improvement in our taxi service in the foreseeable future until a major revamp of the whole system has been implemented. That would be another story.

Image from hotelkualalumpur