Cheating Cabbies

http://www.mmail.com.my/content/use-meter-rm6-use-coupon-rm18

Check out the latest scam exposed by the Malay Mail.

Personally I'd rather walk than take a cab in Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya.The last time I took a cab,the driver told me that he was from KL and didn't know PJ roads.At first I wanted to go to the nearest LRT station in PJ but changed my mind when the taxi driver said he was from KL, and asked him to take me to the nearest LRT in KL instead.Because it was a Saturday and the roads were jammed, I ended up paying three times more.

I remember reading in the papers how the cabbie would click on a hidden button to speed up the meter.My heart would jump every time the meter tripped.You see, it tripped at every lamp post which was not even 50m apart.

Often I take a cab because I have no other choice.

I do not know whether it is the system or the cabbies themselves who paint a bad image of Malaysian taxis.Even with the 'Welcome and Please Enter" sign on their taxis, passengers are often denied access into the taxis for 'the roads leading to the destination is jammed','it is my lunch break', or 'the taxi don't go that way' excuses.

I am still waiting for the day when catching a taxi in Malaysia is like taking a cab in Singapore or London.Not the fares,of course. Just the courtesy and the confidence that you won't be fleeced.Maybe, it is like waiting for the cat to grow horns, quoting a Malay proverb.Not in this lifetime, perhaps.