The Star/Asia News Network | Thursday, Mar 21, 2013
On March 8, five bus drivers harassed a woman marketing manager near the Bukit Jalil LRT station, resulting in the police conducting investigations for voluntarily causing hurt and outraging of modesty.
On March 11, an expatriate teacher boarded a taxi in Mutiara Damansara to go to Damansara Perdana. Instead, she was abducted to Sepang, and robbed and raped.
On March 15, a foreign tourist was involved in a bloody fight with a taxi driver in Jalan Alor. He had earlier approached five other taxi drivers who were waiting near a hotel.
When the sixth driver also refused to use the meter and quoted an exorbitant fare, the tourist snapped and started shouting at the driver who shouted back, and violence ensued.
Instead of serving the public, these bus and taxi drivers are causing harm and they seem to regard their Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence as nothing more than a permit to earn a living.
The authorities are equally to be blamed for allowing the situation to deteriorate over the past decades.
It is common knowledge that many PSVs are renewed at the Road Transport Department (RTD) with forged medical certificates.
Without an annual medical examination and due to the sedentary nature of their jobs, these bus and taxi drivers are like time bombs on our roads.
Taking ailing drivers off the road may be cruel but their loss of income could be mitigated if they are given monthly allowances while undergoing rehabilitation or offered other jobs.
This is far better than not intervening and allowing tragedies to occur that can possibly cause untold suffering to the families of drivers and passengers.
Errant bus and taxi drivers are unlikely to mend their ways when merely given warnings.
Aggressive or repeat offenders should undergo a mental examination and those with unsound mind should be barred from serving the public.
In any case, PSV licences should only be renewed annually after the drivers have attended a full-day briefing cum medical examination organised by the RTD.
Meanwhile, the authorities should step up enforcement and the reasons why they have not done so ought to be addressed.
The Star/Asia News Network | Thursday, Mar 21, 2013
Could it be due to overlapping responsibilities as both the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and RTD are entrusted with enforcement powers?
Perhaps it would be better for the SPAD to give up enforcement powers as they cannot be effective with only a small team of enforcement officers and with no power to issue compound fines.
If the RTD does not wish to carry the mantle, the SPAD should be transformed into a formidable organisation by consolidating the enforcement powers and teams of both agencies.
While waiting for changes, enforcement officers from both agencies should get cracking before more crimes are committed by those driving buses and taxis.
For a start, they should check on cabbies waiting outside hotels, shopping centres and tourist spots, as genuine cabbies wait in queue in their taxis.
The management of hotels should also ensure that the doormen, bellhops or concierge do not work in cahoots with unscrupulous cabbies.
Hundreds of taxis and drivers can easily be checked on any given day and at just one location by a small team of enforcement officers.
This simple exercise would deter many without PSV, including foreigners, from driving taxis and ensure that the cabbies are properly dressed, and the taxis clean and in good condition.
On March 12, two suspected robbers masquerading as taxi drivers and believed to be responsible for 13 assault and robbery cases involving female passengers were recorded on CCTV at Pantai Hillpark when they were there to pick up another victim.
The onus on providing public service falls squarely on both the authorities and cabbies.
The standard of taxi service is a good barometer of a society and, sadly, ours has been brought down by sheer apathy known to locals as the tidak apa attitude.
