Not all cabbies happy with Teks1m scheme

There are many discrepancies and unanswered questions with regards to the much touted Teksi 1Malaysia (Teks1m) scheme, said the Metered Taxi Drivers Working Group (BBPTB).

In a press release today, the group's chairperson Amran Jan said that important details about the scheme, such as the sales and purchase agreement for a Proton Exora MPV, have yet to be outlined.

"Who will handle the sales and purchase agreement? The taxi consortiums or the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD)? How long is the loan tenure? Five, seven or nine years? What is the monthly installment?" asked Amran.

The Teks1m scheme, launched with much fanfare by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in March, was a move to provide taxi licences for individuals, instead of companies.

The initial batch involved 1,000 people, but there is a catch - participants must purchase Proton Exora MPV, specially factory retro-fitted with a credit card reader and runs on natural gas.

Amran said that even with the discounts, the RM59,000 price tag on such a vehicle might be too expensive for most taxi drivers to afford and maintain.

"Many are unable to handle the maintenance cost of even (the cheapest) Proton Saga which cost RM36,000. A taxi driver's usual income is around RM1,500 a month. (The scheme) will make life worse for them," he said.

According to Najib, those selected for the scheme will only have to pay two percent interest on the loan and zero down payment. But even then, the monthly installment for a nine year repayment period would be RM597.

Amran said that SPAD has gotten their priorities wrong and should instead be focussing on other pressing issues, such as:

• Curbing monopolies by certain taxi groups
• Abolishing the coupon system and ensuring all taxis run meters
• Applying punitive actions against taxi drivers who fail to use meters
• Applying a 30 percent rush hour surcharge