KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — There will be zero degree tolerance for unscrupulous cabbies and bus operators following the increase in tax and express bus fares.

Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) CEO Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal said with the new fare structure, taxi drivers can no longer refuse use the meter.

“We are coming down hard on them. If we catch them not using meters we will suspend the drivers from operating for a minimum of one month. If a taxi driver does it again or while under suspension, we will revoke their license altogether,” said Nur Ismal.

He said taxi drivers need to meet  two minimum requirements as part of the licensing condition.

“First, they have to ensure their service is available when required and secondly they must use the meter,” he said, confirming SPAD’s plan to fit in stages the Centralised Taxi Service System (CTSS) from the onboard unit devices in metered taxis beginning this year.

Nur Ismal said, the CTSS system will act as real-time monitoring of taxi drivers.

“It will be part of the operating license condition. The CTSS would record their daily operation and movement and at the same time understand the operation pattern of taxi drivers.

He said the system will also gather monetary data from meters and this would enable SPAD to know the operating hours of cabbies.

In justifying the taxi fare increase, Nur Ismal said the commission looked into three areas for fare review approach ― re-base-lining taxi cost, establishing a taxi cost index and applying a baseline cost to taxi fare structure.

A SPAD survey  in 2013 found the cost to operate a taxi increased tremendously since 2009.

Citing the survey, Nur Ismal said: “The average inflation rate is 2.5 per cent per annum and our study showed a taxi driver’s take home pay was only RM970 and they were finding it difficult to make ends meet. 

“We conducted a thorough public consultation in 2013 and last year, with at least 15 taxi workshops with all stakeholders throughout Peninsular, including 35 taxi operators, 150 associations, and consumer groups before deciding on the fare structure.

On the express bus fare hike, Nur Ismal said: “Express bus operators have had to sustain over 36 per cent cost increase for several years.”

“To date, the total operating cost for taxis and buses have grown by approximately 33 per cent, with natural gas vehicle (NGV) alone increasing by 11.3 per cent.

He also revealed the NGV pump price will be further revised from RM0.68/le to RM1.05/le, in six months time.

“SPAD cannot allow the service level spiralling down anymore due to these operating issues,” he said.

“Right now, we are asking operators to adopt more and more safety measures such as fully-functioning GPS and adopt SPAD’s iCOP safety guidelines which among others are mandatory for operator to monitor drivers’ performance.”