KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has been listed as among the top 10 countries with the cheapest taxi fares.
The 2017 Taxi Price Index, released by British online used car site, Carspring, ranked Malaysia in 8th place out of 80 countries, beating southern neighbours Singapore, which is listed in 20th spot.
According to the survey, a three-kilometre cab ride in KL would cost a passenger an average of RM8.10 (USD 1.89).
Neighbouring cities Jakarta and Bangkok garnered third and seventh place with RM6.30 (USD1.47) and RM7.03 (USD1.64), respectively.
Cairo, Egypt took top spot as the city with the cheapest cab fares with RM2.36 (US 0.55), while at the other end of the table, Zurich, Switzerland is the world’s most expensive, averaging RM108.22 (USD25.25) for three-kilometres.
The survey also examined taxi fares from the airport to city centres. The most expensive ride in this category was Tokyo, Japan with RM813.95 (USD189.91). Cairo was also the winner in this category, proving to be the cheapest at RM18 (USD4.20).
According to the survey, a journey from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to the city centre would average around RM84.35 (USD19.68).
The survey results have drawn mixed views from Malaysian taxi users. One user, who only wished to be known as Teo, said while listed taxi fares in KL may be cheaper than many other cities, there are still times when cabbies would negotiate fares for journeys instead of using the meter entirely.
However, she agreed that the fare in general is cheaper than elsewhere.
“When my friend and I were in Tokyo for our holiday, we didn’t even dare to hail a taxi although we had actually lost our way to our accommodation,” she said.
Another taxi user, Iylia Ayuni Halimi, 29, disagreed with the survey as she was constantly overcharged by cabbies in KL.
“There have been several instances where I had to pay different prices for the same route. I once paid RM8 for a taxi fare from my house to the nearest shopping centre and was charged RM12 for the same route the next day,” she said.
Click here for the full list: https://www.carspring.co.uk/taxi-price-index-usd/