Premium cabbies serving LCCT seek petrol subsidy

13 July, 2008

SEPANG: Premium taxi drivers of the Low Cost Taxi Association servicing the KLIA Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) route are appealing to the Government for petrol subsidy, up to RM1.70 a litre.

“After taking our passengers where they want to go, our earnings are usually only enough to fill up our petrol tanks,” said association deputy president Alwi Mahruf yesterday.

He urged the Government to grant a subsidy of between RM1.50 and RM1.70 a litre for the 220 premium taxies that do not use natural gas.

Alwi said the premium taxis use higher end vehicles such as Nissan Cefiro 3.0 and Hyundai Sonata 2.0, which have larger boot space and would use more petrol as they are able to carry heavier luggage.

He said the Finance Ministry rejected the association’s appeal on Friday because the high fares for their premium taxis did not justify petrol subsidy.

A passenger taking a premium taxi from the LCCT to Kuala Lumpur can expect to pay about RM92.40 and about RM77.30 for Petaling Jaya.

However, Alwi said a premium taxi driver would need to fork out about RM52.90 worth of petrol and toll charges for a 2-way LCCT-KL trip. They are not allowed to pick up passengers outside of the LCCT.

“Also, the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) is approving too many permits for premium taxis. At LCCT, most of the passengers take the budget taxis and the bus.

“There are too many premium taxis and we have to wait more than two hours for a passenger,” he added.

He cautioned that many premium taxi drivers would have their vehicles repossessed if petrol subsidy was not granted soon.

This article is a verbatim copy of the original article from The Star.