Taxi drivers should be more courteous, stick with meter rates and not overcharge IT was baffling to say the least. An e-hailing driver’s wife claimed the cash he received from a “she-passenger” turned into dried leaves after he dropped her off. The man quickly went back to his mother’s house to clean up before going home.
The same driver noticed, on another occasion, that he was being followed by a motorcyclist, and when both stopped at a traffic light, he noticed the motorcyclist was faceless.
Details of the passengers, however, went missing once he or she is dropped off at their destination. And no, the ghost did not do it; it is the system to prevent misuse of information.
Both incidents were discussed animatedly on Twitter, and although there were some sceptics, many shared their experiences while on duty. The posting was later deleted.
Ask any taxi driver in town and he will have his tale to share. And it normally revolves around money changing into hell notes or dried leaves. Even in cities like Kuala Lumpur.
It has become a sort of urban legend — many have claimed the cash they received would turn into hell notes, including shopkeepers. In the 1970s, it is said that a shopkeeper in Muar who received dried leaves from a mysterious shopper preserved them in a cash dispensing machine. Soon, he was blessed with some winnings from the lottery. He staunchly believed that the bunian (beings from the other side) had helped him.
Another interesting tale involves passengers asking to be sent to some remote area, and it is always a cemetery.
The passengers, normally young women, may well be daughters of the cemetery caretaker, but for the drivers, as long as you pay for the trip (with real cash), they really don’t mind it. But it would be scary to drive to a cemetery at night.
Is it even remotely possible that the ghosts have now turned to apps and they actually own smartphones? They may have gotten free rides in taxis before this, but for the beings to actually request for a car via an e-hailing app, well, that has taken the level of ghostly and ghastly experiences to a new level.
A Twitter user, however, has an explanation for this. He said the passenger could have performed some ritual to change the eight pieces of RM1 notes into dried leaves and the passenger is as human as any of us.
The next burning question — how could she have the heart to shortchange the driver for a mere RM8? If the fare is double or triple the figure, you could believe it, but for RM8?
What did the driver do with the eight leaves? He destroyed them, for fear of black magic. But then, someone said the leaves could be the answer to his financial woes.
One even joked that ghosts have moved on from taxis to
e-hailing services, and that taxi drivers should take a cue from this experience and start a new app specially for them, or ditch the taxi, join the bandwagon and become e-hailing drivers themselves.
Indeed, taxi drivers should not be unduly worried about ghosts, but of real people shying away from them. A little courtesy, sticking to metered rates, not being choosy about destinations — even if they ask to be sent to a cemetery — may be little tricks to bring back passengers.
Emulate e-hailing drivers who are friendly and free with their smiles, and their penchant for light banter to make passengers feel at ease during rides. Or take a ride in a Grab and check out how tidy their vehicles are and do the same for taxis.
Given that Malaysian taxi drivers are rated the worst in the world (according to a list compiled by British taxi comparison site, LondonCabs.co.uk in 2016), it is time that they took stock of the situation and improve their services.
With affordable cars (deposit free) available in the market, perhaps taxi drivers should seriously think of joining the e-hailing service; they might just be able to woo passengers back, including the mysterious ones who have a habit of paying with dried leaves. But that’s the downside of business!
The writer is a translator, indulges in gardening during his free time and is a self-confessed Facebook addict