Bus and taxi fares are set to soar 30% to 50% very soon, as early as next month!
Nazri said the starting fare for taxis would increase from RM2 to RM3 for the first kilometre and from 10 sen to 13 sen for every subsequent 150m.
He said that when a taxi was stationary, such as during a traffic jam, the proposed rate was 13 sen for every 27 seconds, more than a 100% increase from the 10 sen for every 45 seconds.
Although Nazri declined to reveal the proposed fare increase for buses, sources indicated that the rise would be around 30%. (source)
Is this fair? Read on below.
Clear Signs of Inflation
The majority of the public who take public transport are often those who can’t afford to drive and definitely cannot afford to fork out an additional 50% more for their fares to take them from their workplace and back.
With these hikes, their meagre salaries will be squeezed much further as inflation once again rears its ugly head in an already depressed economy.
Increased Fares For Terrible Service
If you have recently taken the public transport, you will realise that we will soon be paying increased fare for very substandard services.
Our buses are all dirty and wheeze black smoke everywhere on the roads. They have probably not been serviced for more than 10 years and the drivers are often reckless, weaving in and out on the roads and stopping wherever they feel like it. Our buses do not even run on a schedule so be prepared to wait for ages to catch your bus under dirty and poorly maintained bus stops.
Taxis are not better with rundown Protons servicing KL and errant taxi drivers who refuse to use the metre and demand exorbitant rates instead. Safety is another big issue as too many molest and rape cases by taxi drivers to their female passengers have gone unreported.
Before any hikes are proposed, the Government should seriously look into improving these services and giving the public their money’s worth before stealing from the poor man on the street. Perhaps we should start preparing ourselves for train fares and petrol hikes next!
June 4th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Wah! how to take taxi now?! SO expensive already then so dangerous some more – don’t know whether taxi driver is honest or will rape you
June 4th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Taxi drivers have been finding it hard to make a living, so maybe this will help them make a livelihood.
I’m not so sure about bus fares though.
In either case it’s going to be bad news for everybody. Like you said, we have to expect another round of inflation since traders have another excuse to raise prices.
June 5th, 2009 at 11:20 am
man, life is never fair.
how to boycott the public transport?
June 5th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Hi Mr Beagle – Genuine taxi drivers are ok but there are too many bogus ones around nowadays who harm their female passengers. The government should look first into improving their public transport and ensuring the safety of taxi and bus passengers.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Hi CalvaryZone – No way of boycotting unless you own a car but that’s a different form of expenditure altogether!
June 5th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Hi Jeweled Chic – Cannot take taxi anymore…too many bogus drivers and foreigners around now.