Cab owners give thumbs down to franchise system

PRIVATE taxi owners have expressed their discontent towards the Ministry of Communications' newly proposed taxi franchise system, as it will have a detrimental effect to their income.

The private taxi owners said that business has been hard to come by for the past few years, but it has shown a slight improvement due to the rising number of tourists.

Hj Rahman, a taxi operator for nearly six years, said that he earned revenues in 2007 and 2008 following the completion of his bank instalment for the purchase of his taxi.

However, with the new announcement, his plans will fall short as not only he has to compete with illegal taxis which are rampant, but the new franchise taxis as well.

"Why don't the ministry take action against the illegal taxis which are taking away business from us who pay for our licences or comply the regulated rates to all taxis around the country. This way, there is no need to implement a taxi franchise system," he said.

He added that being a small country, a franchise public taxi system would promote a "monopolised industry", resulting in private taxi operators losing their businesses.

An individual who used to be part of the management for the failed CTS franchised taxi system introduced in the 1990s said that the Ministry of Communications must learn from previous experiences with the system before implementing it again.

The individual, who did not want to be named, said the CTS which meant "Cuma Tiga Sahaja" or "Three dollars Only" failed due to the high taxi maintenance costs and revenue constraints due to lack of passengers.

"The rate of three dollars was assigned to CTS assigned zones only but as the zones were too large, there was no income. Our customers were low income foreigners who shares the three dollars between them, and was not willing to pay more than the stated figure although the place they intended to go are beyond the zones," he said.

He said the best way to settle the issues between the private-owned taxis and the proposed taxi franchise system is to regulate the rates and enforce it.

To enforce proper rates, the ministry must do a survey and check the consumption of fuel per kilometre. "Even better, adjust the rates using the metre installed in taxis and enforce the usage of metres. Most taxis now do not use it and they charge as they wish," he said.

The Ministry of Communications must organise an open dialogue with taxi owners and they will realise why the current taxi rates are high, says Mohammad, a limousine taxi operator based at the airport.

He said that the high rates are due to the low number of customers.

"We are lucky if we get at least five customers per day. If the officers wonder why we charge a higher rate, they can simply monitor taxi operators for a day and they can see the reason. Maybe they can discuss better options with us through an open dialogue, rather than just let someone monopolise the industry," he said.

However, the taxi franchise system was well received by the public, especially foreign workers in the country. They support the introduction of franchised taxis as it would be a better organised public transportation and enhance the tourism sector.

Hjh Damit Abdullah, 32, said that tourists' complaints on transportation problems would no longer be heard after the introduction of the system.

"Brunei is small but has a very confusing road system. Renting a vehicle would be an absolute no for most tourists and without a reliable system, they will not be able to go to many places. This would prevent them from coming back," she said.

According to some foreign workers, they are constantly troubled by the unreliability of the bus system and their safety when they opt to use illegal taxis.

Thai national Santhoop said that he has been using illegal taxis for quite some time as it is cheap compared to normal taxis and more reliable than buses.

"If there were cheap legal taxis, not only tourists will use it, but we will all use it. By we, means low income foreign workers who cannot afford our own vehicles," he said.

The Ministry of Communications said that a new taxi franchise will be operational in all four districts by the end of this year, providing a more systematic and professionally managed taxi service.