Taxi drivers will have to fork out money from their own pockets to recalibrate their meters to accommodate the latest fares hike that was announced by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) yesterday.

Federal Territory and Selangor Taxi Operators Association president, Datuk Aslah Abdullah said, it is something that cabbies need to do although they might not be happy with this move.

“This shouldn’t be a big deal to taxi drivers. It is understood that to accommodate new fares, meters naturally need to be recaliberated. All taxi drivers know this.

“However, I understand their grumbles because they were not warned beforehand that they needed to spend their own money for the recalibration process.

“The fare hike came as a surprise to us. Although we welcome the increment, we would appreciate it if the authorities can inform us first in the future especially if we need to spend our own money for anything,” he told Astro AWANI when contacted, last night.

Aslah was asked to comment on claims by certain taxi drivers, made known to Astro AWANI Thursday, that they are expected to use their own money for the meter recalibration process.

He also said the price for the recalibration process varies according to the meter model. Older models might not cost as much as the newer models, he explained.

It is understood that the recalibration process is to be carried out by the respective taxi companies before going through a Puspakom inspection for approval.

Meanwhile, Aslah said, cabbies should be satisfied with the 33 per cent fare hike but the sharp increase might put off consumers for awhile.

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“Ideally, fares should be increased 10 per cent every two years so that the hike is gradual and consumers won’t feel the pinch too much. Increasing the fare about the same time with the GST (Goods and Services Tax) implementation, it came as a double whammy for consumers especially to those who solely rely on public transportations to get around,” he said.

Aslah said, as such, he predicts that taxi drivers might experience a slight drop in sales for the time being as consumers adjust their spending.

On consumer grouses that cab drivers should not use the oil price as an excuse to raise their fares as taxis largely run on natural gas vehicles (NGV), Aslah said the price hikes are required more for vehicle maintenance and to improve their overall services.

He also said the hike is timely as prices of spare parts are on the rise.

“Taxi drivers should not take the price hike for granted. Now that fares have been increased, there is no reason for them not to provide good and professional services at all times for the comfort of consumers,” he added.

Yesterday, SPAD announced that the new rate for taxis, effective immediately, has been increased between 25 sen and 35 sen for a distance of 200 meters for trips in the Klang Valley, Johor Bharu and Penang.

The new rate for waiting time is between 25 sen and 35 sen for the duration of 36 seconds.

At present, there are a total of 30,000 taxi drivers around the Klang Valley.