Taxi Operators

PETALING JAYA: Radio taxi operators have threatened to discontinue their services if the Government is serious about penalising them for doubling the service charge for call cabs to RM2.

Radio Taxi Operators of Peninsula Malaysia action committee chairman Datuk Aslah Abdullah said they would stop providing the services if the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB) were to take action against them.

“It is only a service charge because we are picking up passengers from their house or wherever they are, just like when people have to pay delivery charges when they order fast food delivery.

“The rate has nothing to do with taxi fares regulated by the board,” he said.

On Thursday, charges for radio taxis went up from RM1 to RM2 and charges for passengers who place things in the taxi boot also went up from RM1 to RM2.

The new rates have not been approved by the CVLB despite numerous applications from the operators.

Aslah said passengers must be willing to pay if they wanted the service to continue.

“We bought the equipment and hired workers to provide such services. What is so wrong about raising RM1 after the service was introduced 23 years ago?” he said.

Entrepreneurial Development and Co-operative Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that CVLB would take action against operators who had violated the regulations.

“Apart from cancelling the company permits, we will also revoke the drivers’ Public Service Vehicle licences,” he said Friday.

He also said if the operators wanted to raise their service charges, they should do it through proper channels, and wait for the approval from CVLB.

Fomca advisor Prof Hamdan Adnan said the consumers should not support the operators as the new charges were illegal.

Taxi passengers can complain to the CVLB if they are not happy with the new rates by calling the hotline at 1800-88-9600 or SMS to 39900 or email to [email protected].