Spiralling fuel price has not only affected car owners but also taxi drivers. Even though most taxis use natural gas, taxi drivers have not been spared the repercussions of inflation. The Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board tells TAN CHOE CHOE that taxi fares could be in for a review

A SURCHARGE of RM5 was requested when this reporter called a popular radio-taxi service for a cab to Kajang from Salak South Garden a few days ago. The reason for the surcharge?

"You have to pay the RM5 because Kajang is far from town ... it's our new policy," the operator tried to explain.

Indeed, reports of taxi drivers asking, and in some instances demanding, a surcharge of between RM2 and RM5 -- sometimes more -- are not new.

Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board chair Datuk Markiman Kobiran is quick to point out that these errant drivers are breaking the rules.
"It is wrong. They cannot ask for any surcharge. Which company is this? I will look into the matter."

However, Markiman conceded that it is time to review taxi fares as the last review was in 2005.

Soon after that review, Petronas announced that it would increase the price of natural gas for vehicle (NGV) from 68 sen to 81 sen per litre.

But it withdrew the decision after the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry advised it to defer the decision.

"That was three years ago. Although the price of NGV hasn't gone up since and the jump in fuel prices recently doesn't seem to directly affect taxi drivers, they are not spared from increasing operation costs," said Markiman.

The prices of spare parts, lubrication oil, gear oil -- all part and parcel of the operation costs of taxi drivers -- have also gone up.

"We're not even looking at how the rising cost of living is affecting them yet," said Markiman.

So how difficult are things now for taxi drivers?

"The delinquent ones will always say they don't make enough to make ends meet. These are the ones who want to take the easy way out to make money ... they want to be stationed in front of hotels, shopping complexes.

"But the genuine drivers, the hard-working ones -- they can still survive," said Markiman.

Surviving is perhaps the key word.

"They do need some help. I pity them. I mingle with them and I understand their problems. Studies have shown that it's necessary to increase taxi fares," Markiman added.

"Times are hard. Well, we make enough to eat but not enough for anything extra," said KL Taxi Drivers Association president, Leong Aw.

To help them cope with rising costs, Markiman said CVLB supports some of the proposals from the taxi associations.

The first is to exempt them from toll and road tax.

"Currently, they pay half of the toll but we are considering exempting them from it totally."

The second proposal is to remove the excise duty of between RM1,000 and RM2,000 that they have to pay if they decide to sell their taxis as private vehicles after seven years.

The most they can get from the sale is about RM3,000 to RM4,000 and this amount is drastically reduced after deducting the excise duty.

"After seven years, they cannot get a new taxi permit unless they change their vehicle. If we do away with this excise duty, they can use the extra money to invest in a new car," said Markiman.

Another proposal that CVLB favours is for Proton Holdings Berhad to buy back old taxis as scrap metal.

"This could probably get the taxi drivers a better price than disposing them as private cars."

Some associations are proposing for a 40 per cent increase in taxi fares, said Markiman.

Others have proposed that the fare for the first kilometre be upped from the current RM2 to RM3.

"But they (taxi drivers) are in a dilemma. They are worried that if they increase the fares too much, they might end up getting fewer passengers."

Although Markiman doesn't have the official figures, he believes their ridership has increased in tandem with most modes of public transport.

Leong said the KL Taxi Drivers Association wants the meter to be adjusted to add 10 sen to the bill every 20 seconds, instead of every 45 seconds.

"This is to take into consideration the increasingly bad traffic situation in town. Most taxi drivers get stuck in jams and we lose precious time and end up ferrying fewer customers. I think this adjustment is reasonable," he added.

Under this proposal, Leong said a 30-minute trip, which costs about RM5 from Sungai Wang Plaza to Petaling Street, will probably come up to RM7.

On Friday, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad announced that some 40,231 taxis and hired cars with petrol engines nationwide will be able to purchase petrol at a subsidised rate of RM1.92 per litre.

Each car is only entitled to enjoy up to 720 litre of the subsidised petrol per month.

This would benefit about half of the taxis and hired cars in the country.

Apart from taxis in the Klang Valley and Johor Baru, where 98 per cent and 50 per cent of taxis and hired cars have switched to NGV, the rest are still running on diesel and petrol.

"This is good news. But we have to look at the total implementation. If there are any shortcomings, we would subsequently propose other recommendations to the ministry," said Markiman.

Today, taxi fares in Malaysia are still among the lowest in the world.

And despite the recent global increase of fuel prices, Petronas chairman Tan Sri Hassan Marican had given the assurance that the price of NGV would remain at 68 sen per litre.

He told the New Straits Times last month that NGV is heavily and directly subsidised and that for every litre sold at 68 sen, the national oil company shells out about RM2.

He said the number of stations selling natural gas would also be increased to ease the long queues at existing stations.

Hassan also revealed that 59 stations would be added to the existing 90 this year, and that by 2010, there should be 200 stations nationwide selling natural gas.