14 July 2008

Do We Have This In KL's Taxis?

A few days ago, I hailed a taxi to get to my office. Normally I would take the Bluebird taxi which by 8.15 am daily would have formed a queue at Pondok Indah Mall 2.

However, on that particular day, the row of Bluebird taxis where not there.

So, I had to stand by the roadside of the main Arteri Pondok Indah road and hail the first taxi in sight. Lucky for me I did not have to wait long. Less than two minutes later I was in this yellow taxi. The mini LCD screen inside immediately caught my attention. Nice huh? And it's not even a premium taxi, mind you.





Now, it has been almost a year since I last set foot in Kuala Lumpur. I'm not sure if taxis in KL have been upgraded since then. As far as I could recall, the three major things which I could remember about taxis in Kuala Lumpur are :
  • Smelly
  • Dirty
  • Dishonest drivers

But of course, not all taxis (and its drivers) in KL are as described above. The above are based on my personal experiences.

Jakarta has the Bluebird taxis which are famous for its reliability. Most of the taxis in its fleet are new, clean and spacious. The same could be said of Gamiya and Express. Of course there are the lesser known taxi fleets which are not so well kept.

The point is, in Jakarta, we have a choice. If one needs a good and reliable taxi, then Bluebird is available.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about KL's taxis. I have Indonesian friends who told me horrifying stories about their experience in a KL taxi. It's so "malufying" (embarassing)!!!

If I were the person in charge of the government ministry/department overlooking the taxis in KL, I would have resigned years ago for failing to improve the taxi services and uplift the image of KL's taxis.

Speaking of taxis, is anyone doing anything about the taxi touts in KLIA? I heard the problem still persist. Aiyahh.. mende macam ni pun takleh nak handle ke? Ada org dah kena suap ke to keep their eyes shut on the touts??

The most pleasant experience I had with a taxi was when I was a student in Portsmouth. This particular taxi driver lost his way and he immediately paused the meter. He resumed the meter when he finally got on the correct road.

Chances of that happening in KL? Aku potong jari kalo ada taxi driver that honest kat KL.

3 comments:

thelaughinggas said...

bapak aku honest nok...ada pak arab ni tertinggal sebakul duit usd nya kat belakang seat taxi bapak aku. Bapak aku pegi carik pak arab tu sampei dapat. Tapi pak arab tu pulak cam hanjing cakap tq pun tak...bagi sedekah 10heng pun jauh sekali.

gadhogadho said...

sib baik aku tak naik teksi bapak ko. harus jari aku tinggae 9 je.

ramai org tak gemor perangai arab2 ni yg on holiday. Kedekut, kurang ajor and kasar. but bukan semua le. teringat aku mencarut pak arab kat renaissance dulu sebab sengaja tutup pintu lift padahal dah tau aku nak masuk. babis tul.

thelaughinggas said...

si body builder pun penah gaduh dgn pak arab kat rest area mana tah...macam perang teluk katanya..