STRIKE Cabbies may
Taxi operators TOTALLY AGAINST deferment of new rates
KUALA LUMPUR: Cabbies in the Klang Valley may go on strike if the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) flip-flops on an approved fare hike and prevents them from charging the new rates announced last Thursday.
The Metered Taxi Drivers Action Committee (BBPTB), a body consisting of 22 taxi associations, has warned that they will strongly protest if SPAD follows the Cabinet directive to defer the fare hike.
“This includes taking taxis off the streets,” said BBPTB chairman Amran Jan, adding that cabbies are prepared to go head-to-head with the authorities on the matter.
He said this is because the fare hike had been a long time in coming and more than half of BBPTB members have since the announcement, taken steps to calibrate their taxi meters to compute on the new rate.
SPAD ha d on Thursday announced that taxi and hire car fares will increase by 20% to 40% with immediate effect, while express bus fares will go up 22.6% effective May 15.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had on Saturday urged SPAD to defer the hike, citing that the time is not right and that it coincided with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1.
SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, when contacted, said he understands the feelings and concerns of the taxi drivers, but the commission has to comply with the directive of the Cabinet, which is the highest decision-making body in the country.
“I will meet the drivers either tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday, to find the best solution to settle this
issue,” he said.
On why the Cabinet was asking for a deferment although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had signed the approval for the fare hike, Syed Hamid replied: “Maybe the prime minister had a change of mind and decided to defer the hike.”
While expressing the disappointment over the move, Amran said cabbies have had to bear with increasing costs of living as the last review by SPAD was six years ago.
He said BBPTB will stand firm and ask all its members to operate based on the new fares, especially as about 40% to 50% of them have already recalibrated their meters following SPAD’s announcement last Thursday.
“Almost half of our members have recalibrated their meters, spending a full day and about RM160 to do so. Who will reimburse us if we are ordered to go back to the old rate? In addition to the recalibration charge, we also lost one day’s income,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
“I also urge those taxi drivers who have not re-calibrated their meters in accordance with the new fares, to do so as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Malaysian Taxi Drivers’ Transformation Association (Persim) deputy chairman Kamarudin Mohd Hussain, described the Cabinet’s move to postpone the fare hike as contravening the approval given by the prime minister.
“Why is the Cabinet asking for a postponement now when the federal government gazette for this fare hike was signed by Najib,” he said.
Kamarudin also pointed out that with the implementation of the GST on April 1, taxi drivers will be subjected to the 6% tax for the maintenance and spare parts of the vehicles.