I refer to the letter More taxis won't solve taxi industry's woes.

Moaz Yusuf Ahmad presented an impassioned defence of our taxi drivers in which today's dire state of the service is attributed to the economic of supply and demand.

By the precise same reasoning, we should accept snatch thefts and burglary as they too are driven by the basic economics of supply and demand.

Easy money is hard to obtain and in short supply, but the demand is so high that some people are willing to break the rules in order to obtain it in ways which are not permitted.

There is no difference between theft and a taxi driver not using the meter and setting his own fare above that to which he is entitled. A taxi driver who does not use the meter is guilty of fraud in that he has advertised himself as 'Taxi Bermeter' when he is in fact not.

He is guilty of obtaining a permit by deception, guilty under the Consumer Protection Act of falsely advertising prices, and of breaching the regulations which apply to him.

We do not tolerate theft and therefore we must not tolerate the current actions by taxi drivers. I firmly believe that they should be hauled up before the courts in just the same way as a thief should and face criminal charges for their actions.

I further feel it would be advantageous for the government to make a clear statement that where the meter was not used, no fare can be requested and the taxi journey is entirely free of payment, and that such a rule makes any agreement whether verbal or written void. 

Likewise, where a ticket system has been implemented, it should be required that the meter is run in addition and the passenger pays the lower of the meter or the ticket value upon arrival, in order that ticket systems are not used to inflate prices above those to which a taxi driver is entitled.

In some areas, the number of taxis not using the meter is so high it makes it very difficult for passengers to wait for a taxi which does use the meter. 

I personally spent more than half an hour hailing cabs on Petaling Street one recent Saturday before giving up and walking to another part of Kuala Lumpur to find a taxi driver using a meter. 
Rest assured that I reported all those drivers and only regret I did not have a camera to add additional evidence.

I can assure the writer that I felt threatened, disappointed and under pressure to pay the over inflated fares quoted – which were all more than double what I know the meter rate would be having taken a metered taxi to Petaling Street just an hour ago.

It is important to remember that a taxi driver has a choice whether to accept the meter rates or not.  At any time, a taxi driver who feels he is not earning a fair wage for his effort is free to quit driving a taxi and take up another job which will pay him what he feels he is worth.

When there is a shortage of people willing to be taxi drivers, then and only then is the fare structure too low. Until that day, the continued presence of taxi drivers on the road is proof absolute that the fare structure is sufficient.
 
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/86298

Extra charge to defray higher cost of diesel, says ComfortDelGro 

 MOST cab rides will cost 30 cents more from next Thursday, after Singapore's largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro yesterday announced its decision to levy a fuel surcharge on all trips.
The first of its kind for the cab industry, the flat rate payable regardless of the distance travelled comes just months after fares went up in December.

Most of the other cab companies are expected to follow the lead of ComfortDelGro, which owns Comfort and CityCab taxis. The industry giant was reported three weeks ago by The Sunday Times to be considering such a move.

ComfortDelGro said yesterday the surcharge is to help cabbies mitigate the unrelenting rise in fuel prices.

It noted that diesel pump prices have risen by more than 50 per cent in the last six months alone - to about $1.83 a litre after discount.

Mr Yang Ban Seng, chief executive of ComfortDelGro's taxi business, said: 'In the past six months, we have been absorbing a large part of the increase in diesel costs.'

He pointed out that cabbies get diesel dispensed at company-run pumps at $1.19 a litre.

In the first quarter, ComfortDelGro declared that it incurred a $6.3 million loss on diesel sale because it has been selling diesel at sizeable discounts.

Mr Seng Han Thong, adviser to the Taxi Operators' Associations, supported the move. Mr Seng had said that taxi firms could not continue to subsidise fuel indefinitely.

'We call on other taxi companies to continue to help their drivers cope with rising diesel prices,' he said.

Assuming that each cabby gets about 30 customers a day, the 30-cent surcharge will raise his daily takings by $9, which ComfortDelGro said will help to offset his bigger fuel bill.

Even with subsidised diesel, ComfortDelGro drivers pay about a $15 more a day, based on an average consumption of about 45 litres a vehicle.

To commuters, the surcharge amounts to a 2.6 per cent rise in fare for an average 9.3km ride.

ComfortDelGro said it will remove the surcharge when diesel falls back to $1.19 - the market price of the fuel in December 2007.

Asked if it would raise the levy beyond 30 cents if diesel continues to climb, spokesman Tammy Tan said: 'We've not come to that. This is a very new thing to us.'

Smaller taxi operators are following ComfortDelGro's lead.

Mr Johnny Harjantho, managing director of Smart Taxis, said: 'We will most likely follow.'

Mr Lim Chong Boo, managing director of Premier Taxis, said his company is also likely to implement the surcharge 'after consulting with our drivers'.

The exception, at least for the moment, is Mr Neo Nam Heng, managing director of Prime Taxis, whose fleet of cabs runs entirely on natural gas, which is cheaper than diesel.

'We should consider the commuters' interests. Our drivers have to accept it too,' he said.

Cabby Tan Soon Huat, 49, who has been driving a Comfort cab for 14 years, said: 'I think the 30 cents surcharge is quite reasonable. I just hope commuters see it that way too.'

Others added that the rising diesel prices have wiped out much of the higher takings they were starting to get from the December fare hikes.

Regular taxi user Tang Swee Noi, 33, a teacher, said: 'Much that I am unhappy about it, I still have to take taxis, or I will have to wake up much earlier to go to work.

'We all know the fuel price is increasing so I don't think there's very much that taxi drivers can do. For now, it's still cheaper than getting a car.'
 
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_256847.html

Imagine a hot day outdoors. You just had a lunch-out with office friends in the mall and you are on your way back to the office. To get a cab, you have to fall in line. Now again, imagine it to be a really hot, humid day (not so hard to do in tropical Manila). Trickles of sweat start to form on the sides of your forehead and under your shirt, it’s a waterfall. Then your turn to take the cab comes. The feeling of air-conditioning on your skin excites you so you literally throw yourself into the car. And then—SLAM!—body odor! If it weren’t for courtesy and the long line we had to endure to get a ride, I’d be out of that smelly hole in a snap. The courtesy flag shouldn’t even be raised because a smelly cab is an outright disrespect and violation of my right to breathe!

Needless to say, the issue is hygiene. Most cab drivers here in Manila take this for granted. They go on their daily trips looking grungy and unpresentable. I have in many occasions rejected a cab on account of how the driver looks like. Well, not so much that they should look cute and young and hot (gee, who could resist the chance that next cabbie will be like that?) but simply that they should look clean and decent enough. I wonder if there are rules governing hygiene of taxi cab drivers and their cars per se here in the country. I wonder what happened to the announcement by MMDA’s Bayani Fernando that public utility vehicle drivers with body odor issues will be admonished.

United Kingdom. In Bournemouth, 100 taxi drivers got suspended for not taking required courses on personal hygiene and conflict management.
China. As part of the Olympics preparation, Beijing is banning smelly cabs.
UAE. Cab drivers of a taxi-operating company trains new taxi drivers not just on emirate routes, also on grooming and personal hygiene.
Hygiene is of course a personal decision that we hope these taxi drivers naturally get into their daily system of activities. It’s something they should’ve grown themselves with in the first place. It’s ridiculous how some of them actually attribute the cause of the problem to our country’s predominantly hot climate. Nice try, manongs! And the following suggestions are for you, if you happen to come across this page that is:
Take a bath. I mean, seriously, don’t be a cat and dip yourselves in some body of water. Lather on with some soap, rinse, dry up with a clean towel, get into a clean uniform and you’re prepped. How good and fresh does it feel? You will see how ten minutes can make a big difference throughout your day, not to mention your passenger’s day.
Wash the uniform. And since the uniform was mentioned, make sure to wash it everyday if you only have one set. You will only need to wash every other day if you have two sets, and so on. If you’re working long hours, wash it before you go to sleep with some detergent. Two minutes of scrubbing should be fine. Hang it. Then it should be dry the next morning. Less than ten minutes before you crash your hardworking ass on the bed.
Use a deodorant. Get a Rexona or use “tawas”, it works and it’s cheap. It’s most important if your cab’s airconditioning system is not well-functioning (like most old cabs in the metro). So if your car fails to help you with your body odor, go help yourself!
Look good, look clean. Clean body, clean uniform, dry armpits. Put them all together and try to look the best you can. You’re in a service industry. You deal and meet people everyday. Your job does not start and end in taking people from one place to another; your job also involves making that ride as hassle-free and as smooth as possible. If you’re going to take me as short a ride as from Paseo de Roxas to Makati Avenue and you reek of rotten vinegar, I wouldn’t spare even a peso.
I was inspired to write about this because I’ve encountered such cabs twice. And it’s unbearable. I was casually covering my nose with with my office ID or my finger just so I won’t appear rude. When we finally get to the front of the building lobby, everybody would be trying to get out of the car first, gasping for precious and fresh air. Then later, everybody will be laughing. But it’s not funny.

http://sublunari.wordpress.com/2008/07/12/on-taxi-driver-hygiene/