KUALA LUMPUR: The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) should discuss with the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) to consider giving approved permits (APs) to taxi permit owners.
Malaysia Taxi Drivers’ Coalition spokesman Norfaiza Abdul Ghani said the initiative would enable taxi permit owners to afford better car models.
He said the Finance Ministry should also grant excise duty exemption for vehicles used as taxis.
“This can reduce operation costs by up to 40 per cent because cheaper vehicles will translate into cheaper bank loans.
“Cheaper vehicle prices also means that we can purchase better cars. For example, a Toyota Vellfire, which normally costs more than RM200,000, can be purchased for between RM60,000 and RM70,000 with APs and excise duty exemption.”
He said quality cars could help rebrand the taxi industry and provide better value for passengers.
He said many taxi drivers were burdened by car loan repayments, which could be as high as RM1,500 for budget taxis and RM2,700 for executive taxis, adding that cabbies earned RM150 on average a day.
He said the association would submit a proposal to SPAD, Miti and the Finance Ministry within the month.
Meanwhile, taxi driver Abdul Razak Zabir said he was struggling with the rising cost of maintaining his taxi as he had to drive almost 500km a day to make ends meet.
“At this rate, tyres need to be changed every six months and engine oil must be changed every 10 days. We need to spend RM500 a month on budget taxis and RM900 on executive taxis just to maintain them,” said Abdul Razak.
He also said the government’s plan to give cash grants to taxi drivers to buy their own vehicles should not be limited to those who were not blacklisted.
“This is because many taxi drivers have fallen on hard times, and it is not uncommon for them to default on bank loans,” he said.
The RM5,000 cash grant is one of 11 initiatives under the Taxi Industry Transformation Programme (TITP) announced by SPAD.
TITP, which takes effect on Sept 1, will also see the government injecting much needed financial assistance of RM150 million into the taxi industry over the next five years.