IT seems that the taxi service in Kuala Lumpur has worsened in the last two months, especially after the price of petrol was increased in early June.

Last week, I hosted 15 friends from Singapore for three days.

As we were mostly hopping from one establishment to another in the evenings, we decided that, instead of driving around, we would use taxis. What a mistake that was.

Every taxi that we hailed seemed reluctant to accept our business.

The excuses included "traffic jam", "no pick-up at drop-off points" and " not enough petrol left".
Each time we moved to the next establishment, we had to take four taxis for the group.

If we did find a taxi willing to take us, the fare was arbitrarily dictated. For example, from KL Concorde Hotel to Jalan Imbi, it was RM15 one way for the 3km journey.

The drivers did not use meters, of course.

We also noticed that many taxis with passengers on board had their taxi lights on, meaning the meter had not been turned on.

Why are KL taxis reverting to practices that tarnished the city's image 10 to 15 years ago?

Instead of moving forward as a cosmopolitan city and tourism hub, KL's taxi service seems to be regressing into a typical Third World "wheel- and-deal" style.

The experience I had last week was embarrassing for me as I was the only Malaysian in the group and I was also the host.

I also noticed that many taxis were driven by illegal immigrants or foreign workers in breach of their work permit rules.

Are they allowed to operate taxis and are they insured?