THE phones have been ringing non-stop at the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB) since 10am yesterday after StarMetro published a front-page story on errant taxi drivers in the city.
According to an officer manning the toll-free hotlines, the phone lines have been busy since morning.
She said the situation had been like that since early June after the government increased the petrol price.
"We received about 50 public complaints a day and the bulk of it is from people complaining of taxi drivers refusing to use the meter," she said.
"It's hard to say that there is a surge in complaints because of the report because it's been bad since last month but there were extra calls this morning," she said.
The CVLB was not the only one inundated with calls from consumers complaining of errant taxi drivers.
StarMetro was also flooded with calls and e-mails from readers and taxi drivers who called in to provide feedback on rogue taxi drivers in the city.
Unreasonable, embarrassing and shocking were just some of the adjectives used by StarMetro readers in response to the story.
Some want to know why KL is unable to learn from Singapore on ways to manage the taxi system.
"The taxi service is such an important cog in the public transport system for a city. Our city gets clogged up and tourists get turned away because of its unreliability," city resident Francis Yeoh said.
"Just look at how efficient and reliable the taxi system in Singapore is," he said in his e-mail.
Yong Ming Zhan wrote to say that it was meaningless that Malaysia had one of the lowest taxi rates in the world when taxi drivers did not use the meter.
"Many tourists and locals are suffering from being overcharged because drivers refuse to use the meter. Taxis in Jakarta, Bangkok and Singapore are using the meter," Yong said.
"I would like to suggest that the drivers and authorities revise the current rates and fix a rate that reflects the true cost. I think the tourists and locals don't mind paying more but the system has to be transparent," he said.
A resident of Ridzuan Condominium in Bandar Sunway who signed off as James had written to express his dissatisfaction of the fare imposed by taxi drivers operating in front of his condominium.
According to James, taxi drivers are exploiting residents by overcharging.
"The drivers come into an agreement among themselves, which causes them to monopolise the business in the area, giving them the advantage of dictating the fare," he said.
Sharon Koh, who depends on taxis to get to work, said it was getting increasingly hard to get taxis during peak morning hours.
"I have now resorted to calling a cab from a taxi company from home and don't mind paying the RM2 surcharge imposed," she said.
"But, of late, even calling a cab has become difficult and I notice that if I offered to pay extra there would be a cab waiting for me in front of my gate," Koh said.
"I'm afraid that soon taxi drivers would only come if I offer extra and that in the long run it's going to burn a hole in my pocket," she said.
Taxi driver Abdul Rahman Zaid called to say that not all taxi drivers were bad and that there were many who are still using the meter.
"The impression that all of us are not using the meter is not correct. There are many who follow the rules and regulations and still manage to earn a decent living," Rahman said.
The CVLB hotline can be reached at 1-800-88-9600 or SMS to 39900.
