SPAD: Hike in taxi, express bus fares

KUALA LUMPUR: Taxi fares will be readjusted on Thursday with budget taxis in the Klang Valley to charge 25 sen every 200m.

According to a Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) fact sheet, flag-down rates for budget taxis nationwide will remain at RM3, but the distance and time rates will be revised.

The distance fares will increase from 10 sen for 115m to 25 sen per 200m.

The Teks1m cabs, marked by its brown Proton Exora make, will see new flag-down rates upped to RM4, with 30 sen to be charged per 200m.

Express buses on the other hand will see its current fare increase from 9.3 sen per km to 11.4 sen per km from May 15.

According to the fact sheet, this will mean a ticket to Ipoh from KL will cost RM25.30 instead of RM20.60 previously.

The new fare structure is expected to coincide with the new Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The fares of airport and executive taxis remain unchanged.

There are more than 60,000 taxi drivers in peninsular Malaysia, and a 2013 survey estimated revenue in this sector to be RM960mil.

According to SPAD, the last taxi fare review was carried out in 2009.

SPAD revealed the time charge component would be substantially tweaked to compensate the driver for “opportunity cost of travelling in congestion”.