Warning raised against ‘turbo timers’ on taxis

FILIPINO ingenuity knows no bounds, and unfortunately it’s being applied to duping taxi passengers with the relatively new recalibrated fare meters, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles said.

Complaints reaching Nograles’s office showed that some taxis have unusually fast timers in their fare meters, which directly affect the P2-per-minute running travel fee charged to riders.

The running charge-similar to the one imposed by Grab drivers--was among the new features of the meters that current taxi have following the mass recalibration that was implemented over a year ago. The recalibration coincided with the hike in cab fare.

“One of the reports said that a 15-second lapse in real time gets reflected as a 30-second lapse on the taxi meter. This means that the timer on these flawed or purposely modified meters run twice as fast as they should,” Nograles said.

Under such a meter, a 30-minute ride that should cost P60 (excluding the per kilometer charge) ends up costing P120, or double. That’s a significant uptick considering the usual traffic jams in the metropolis which prolong travel time.

“This is the new style of ‘batingting’ that the LTFRB should guard against. I urge passengers of taxis to be observant and call the attention of the driver if they notice these so-called turbo timers. Matinding panloloko yan,” Nograles said.

“Bakit kasi kailangan pa dayain yung bagong metro, ang laki na nga ng naidagdag sa bayad ng pasahero mula sa dating singil,” he noted.