Some 70,000 taxis are abandoned and left to deteriorate into scrap metal due to the decline in demand for taxi services in the country since 2014, with losses estimated to be around RM2.9 billion, Harian Metro reported.
The RM2.9 billion figure was derived from the total number of taxis comprised of an estimated 2,500 executive taxis and 67,500 regular taxis, and the rough calculation was based on the examples of a four-year-old executive taxi valued at RM80,000 each while a regular taxi such a Proton Waja or Proton Persona valued at RM40,000 each, said Gabungan Teksi Malaysia president Kamarudin Mohd Hussain.
A large proportion of that total involved cars used in the Klang Valley, and that just 40,000 taxi drivers out of 110,000 nationwide, including Sabah and Sarawak, are still surviving in the industry, said Kamarudin.
The situation for taxi drivers has only become worse when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Kamarudin said. Of the taxi companies that had gone bankrupt, 60% of these were due to taxi drivers who no longer wanted to drive the taxis because they were unable to pay the rent for these taxis, which in turn was a result of reduced demand from consumers, he said.
As a result of their bankruptcy, the taxis formerly operated by the taxi companies have in some cases been abandoned at their respective depots, while some other taxis have been disposed of at scrap yards, he continued.
Most of the taxi drivers who have stopped driving taxis have turned to other sources of income such as operating small businesses, driving lorries, farming, or for the aged drivers, retiring and depending on family members, Kamarudin told Harian Metro.
Kamarudin also said that the relevant authorities need to revamp existing policies in order to reduce the gap between taxis and e-hailing transportation providers in order to create healthy competition in the public transport industry. “It is time that the more experienced and knowledgeable industry players are absorbed by the government into policymaking units in order to revive this industry,” he said.
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Before e Hailing taxis tauke dominated this business for decades d…the money made then can sustain for generations . so when business not good, faster file chapter 11 lor. really get pinched ones are the drivers.
Eh,Ahsiongkor mana Tuan?
Got praises for MRT3 multi billion launching,but simple taxi problems,cannot solve meh? Let taxi companies rot,aiyah..yah..mana ‘keluarga ” Bolehland..just a myth..fairy tale saja.
Grab ..lecture them kawkaw to stop overcharging,but our taxis rotting in the Malaysian sun?Perhaps the potong keta part you buy now come from the taxis.
Ya kena mau tolong taxi kompeni and their T20 owners & bosses otherwise they mengadu ke boss besar korup DAP to make protest at Parliamen again.
The body in charge of taxi affair is under PM purview. There is more than 1 minister in PM dept.. Taxi licencing is a very sensitive issue.. What surprise me is that why can’t taxi allowed to operate like ehailing service? B4 hp apps, we use radio taxi service.. Why?
Why should WKS help these crony taxi owners, perhaps are you Big Blue Dr Evil?
We have been cheated by taxi companies for a long time now and with Grab, we finally got an option to break free from their grasp. And you want us to help them?!
What benefits do you get eh? Saving your sorry business?
They way over inflate the value of the taxis, they probably include in all the money spend on the taxis on top of the car purchase price. The value should instead depend on the actual used value the open market is willing to pay.
All this sindiket taxi crooks, UMNo cronies. Eating Haram illegal money , hell fire..
Malaysian taxi industry has always been about a few rich millionaires hoarding thousands of taxi licences and renting them out to poor humans that is forced to drive taxis while getting minuscule amount of money.
Abolish all old taxi licenses. Give approval to individual taxi drivers instead of large companies owned by millionaires. Will the taxi association champion this cause?
Can someone attest to this, i remember my dad work as taxi driver. You need to pay the taxi rent by hook or crook. What? You’re sick and can’t drive to get money to pay? Not our problem but yours
Hello…when u rent it then u have to pay for it lah. U dont get a payment holiday for your loan with the bank even if u MC for a month right?
Just like when u rent a shophouse for your business.If u dont open your shop is that an excuse for not paying your rent?
What you should mention is the absurb rate of the rent and why drivers still loyal to such employer?
mandate that taxis must not be older than 5 years old, abs, curtain airbags for passenger, clean, with privacy screen, WiFi, Aircon, metering app for transparency, polite, honest… will survive
Waja still got RM 40k?
Haha… got me there too! Not sure why they over valued Waja or even Persona (not the current model) that are more than 10 years old. Something very fishy here..
Taxis no need to pay taxes and excise duties right? I say the numbers a little exaggerated. Besides taxis often have high mileage and worn out interior causing much of its value gone over several years
Precisely. They must have added all the extra taxi stuff into the costs.
10 year old taxi still valued as new.
Maybe the figure of billions is how much the tauke taxi “lost” in profit which just shows how they rape the industry and consumers. Pity the actual drivers.
I know new cars are out of stock due to shortage of chips. don’t la Gabungan Teksi Malaysia president jacked up the value of heavily trashed and beaten up taxis so high.
Masa BN banyak company besar dapat licence taxi, org lain individual tak boleh apply lesen taxi, terpaksa sewa dari company besar, mereka hisap darah. Sekarang biar ini company bankrap, mereka sudah untong besar.
TL:DR Version.
Taxi big wigs want spoon feeding again.
Taxi is a servicing business. How we can maintain car condition, hygiene, professionalism of driver, highlights to complain, ease of booking etc. All these is lacking not up for competition.
APA Susah, Govt tanggung??? Semua korup,.
The taxi drivers paid Rm50 to Rm80 for sewa beli Taxi daily. Weekly RM350-Rm560 for Wira, Saga, Eswara. Imagine for 5 years.Monthly Rm Rm1500-Rm2300 for a car the sewa beli companies paid just Rm350-Rm500 monthly to banks. Why? No permit given to individuals.All given to corrupt politicians, corrupt JPJ heads, cronies, and their companies. Who made the living? Driver , cronies or politicians? Who’s fault for having such a corrupt practice? Now it’s happening again in Grab and other Ehailing sector. Sewa beli scheme back . Banks don’t provide loan to blacklists, no documents no car, drivers flock sewa veil companies, same payment. Same burden. The same disaster waiting to happen.