THE ongoing standoff between the authorities and taxi drivers in the city is a cause for concern.
Cab service is an important arm of the public transport system. There are numerous complaints from the public against cabbies for not using the meter, touts, overcharging and refusals to take passengers for short trips. Cabbies who fleece hapless passengers particularly tourists, are also not uncommon.
To add to the city's traffic woes, cabbies park their vehicles by the roadside while waiting for passengers near shopping malls instead of designated points.
They also concentrate on the more lucrative areas, disregarding thousands of passengers in other parts of the city.
It is the authorities' responsibility to ensure smooth traffic flow, besides providing tourists and locals with prompt and hassle-free taxi service.
In the interest of the public and to educate taxi drivers to respect laws and regulations, Op BBKLCC was mounted last week in the Bukit Bintang and KLCC areas by the Land and Public Transport Commission, Road Transport Department, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the police.
In retaliation, some 250 city cabbies staged a protest against the authorities in Jalan Bukit Bintang. They left their vehicles parked in three rows, resulting in a 100m stretch closed to traffic.
The gridlock brought traffic to a standstill for almost three hours.
Taxi drivers are fully aware of the code of conduct formulated by the authorities and have agreed to comply with the rules and regulations governing the issue of public service vehicle licence. As such, they must respect the law enforcement agencies and cooperate with them.
The highhandedness and unprecedented militant move by the cabbies are tantamount to taking the law into their own hands.
Whatever grouses and grievances they may have should be resolved through dialogues with the authorities instead of displaying a show of force.
S. Sundareson, Petaling Jaya, Selangor