Hinching

Instinctively, when a person talks about kuala lumpur, there is always a high chance of hearing stories of people getting ripped off or slaughtered by local taxi drivers whose services are based on open negotiations instead of the standard metered taxi fare. The end result – premium fares for budget taxis.

During my last trip to kl, I experienced this first hand. Staying in a hotel in the middle of nowhere, taxi drivers were reluctant to drive me back by meter based on the reason that they would be losing money having to return back to the city with a passenger-less taxi. This entry itself exists mainly as a record of the conversations that took place in these vehicles throughout my stay and perhaps vent out the supressed dissatisfaction towards this Indian chap who brilliantly slaughtered me on a Tuesday night (RM30 from The Curve to Old Klang Road!).

Figure 1. Copyright © 2007 Andy Lawson

The dangers of being a taxi driver

The multitude of crimes involving taxis (like this) recently have certainly escalate the fear of taking taxis in kl. That said, a taxi driver pointed out that taxis are regrettably popular targets for robbery and taxi thefts. Just like any other profession, the majority of these taxi drivers make ends meet by driving passengers around; even if it means charging them exorbitantly (apparently standard taxi fares have remained the same since the last decade – even with the rise of petrol over the past few years). How can like that?

One Malay driver had one story which I felt had been retold once too many – a tale of his experience with a passenger who almost was his last. This suspicious passenger boarded the taxi without enough money to pay for his trip. “How much have you earned this shift?” the passenger asked in an attempt to strike up a conversation. “It’s not much (Bukan banyak).” he cautiously replied the passenger and leaned slightly forward towards the wheel. Now, when this passenger was dropped off, he revealed to the driver that he wasn’t unable to pay the full fare. The driver let the matter go only to have his wife find a long thick rope at the back of the driver’s seat the very next day. Why would a passenger carry a rope into the car?

Most taxi drivers have families at home to support

Apart from this one taxi driver at 1utama, who to me seemed a bit disturbed (he mentioned that he was previously a chauffeur who couldn’t ’stand’ his ex-employer hence the change of job one month ago), all the seasoned taxi drivers had families to support at home. One taxi driver quite proudly showed me and my sister a photo of his two little daughters on his mobile phone – aged 5 and 8. One had two sons studying in the uk … both studying engineering (very impressive per say). Remarkably, I was informed that some might even have more than one wife – polygamy (how they can afford to support two or more wives is still mind-boggling).

Ways of earning fixed income

Ask any taxi driver about their income – and they will tell you it is anything from fixed. Yet, a lucky handful do. One driver explained every weeknight at 10pm, he stops taking passengers and instead arranges a fleet of taxis to drive the employees of a certain well-known telco company home each night. Another one told about the generosity of certain passengers who were expats and the secret of obtaining long-term customers – be nice to everyone.

I still don’t like taxi drivers.