July 03, 2006 17:12 PM
Penang Taxis To Use Meter From Aug 1
PENANG, July 3 (Bernama) -- After a few postponements, taxis here will finally be required to charge fares by using meters from Aug 1, state executive councillor Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said today.
He said the use of meters and the rates were agreed upon after several rounds of discussion between taxi operator associations, the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development and the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB).
"The metered fare is fixed at RM3 for the first kilometre and 10 sen for each subsequent 150 metres," he told a news conference.
"The fare is higher than that permitted for metered taxis in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baharu which charge RM2 for the first kilometre followed by 10 sen for each subsequent 200 metres.
"The ministry has given special consideration to taxi drivers in Penang because of the shorter distances here, so now they should have no excuse for not using the meter," he said.
Dr Teng, who is State Local Government, Traffic Management, Information and Community Relations Committee chairman, said taxi drivers recalibrating their meters before the end of this month would receive a RM10 discount.
He said they would also be given a special rate for inspection by Puspakom.
"Altogether, each taxi driver will need to pay RM100 for the cost of meter recalibration and inspection by Puspakom this month and RM120 between Aug 1 and Dec 31," he said.
Teng warned that taxi drivers who refused to comply with the ruling would have their permits revoked.
Only representatives of four of the 37 taxi associations in Penang, which have 1,057 members, were present at the news conference.
On the island's public bus service, Teng said the state government would soon submit fresh proposals to the ministry after the failure of the restructuring launched on April 1.
He said the new proposals would include a plan for the state government to buy buses with a RM50 million loan from the Public Transport Trust Fund, obtain the permits from CVLB and appoint operators through tender.
The current bus service failed because the operators flouted the conditions of their permits by leasing their buses to drivers, not issuing tickets to all passengers and not ensuring their buses were comfortable and safe, he said.
-- BERNAMA
