TS,Sunday 4 December 2011
Following the introduction of pink train carriages for women and female-only buses on several routes, Malaysia is again in the news for women taxi or teksi wanita.
Launched by Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Heng Seai Kei, she was reported to have said: “We hope it will reduce the number of rape and robbery cases involving taxi drivers and female victims”.
The international media reported that female passengers in our country are vulnerable to robbery and other violence. It is not good for our tourism industry.
It is understandable for those promoting the service to justify the need. The plan is to recruit 350 more women taxi drivers to complement the existing 50 that are on call.
Bit before anyone jumps onto the bandwagon, they ought to be fully aware that driving a taxi to earn a living is not suitable for anyone, regardless of gender.
The thought of driving around can be alluring. Why pay for a private car when a taxi can double as such?
Instead of working a full shift in an office, factory or service facility, driving a taxi offers the flexibility unmatched by any job or trade.
If single mothers are given the aid to obtain their Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence and down payment for a taxi, the number of women taxi drivers can swiftly reach 400.
It would be suitable to join if common problems faced by taxi drivers are not a factor.
Over the past decade, the number of passengers has not kept pace with the increase of taxis on the road. A good indicator is the long queue of taxis at shopping centres even during non-peak hours.
Many of these drivers have tried picking up passengers by the roadside and gave up as cruising can be costly in terms of fuel, wear and tear, risk of accidents and traffic summons.
Taxis are easily hired from taxi companies under a rental-purchase scheme and the vehicles are usually insured for third party cover only and fully maintained by the driver.
Many of those driving new taxis have a false sense of income. They are often jubilant with the daily cash collection and spend much without budgeting for the high maintenance costs in future.. The downtimes would also be unexpectedly longer.
Their average net income is below RM2,000 per month and has been dropping over the past 10 years. One major accident is enough to wipe out several months of hard work.
It is no surprise that taxi drivers are a favourite target of Ah Long.
The issue is more of passenger safety than women drivers.
Although the attitude of many taxi drivers leaves much to be desired, the fact is travelling in a local taxi is generally safe, other than criminals masquerading as taxi drivers.
It is even safer to use radio-call taxis as these drivers have to adhere to the rules and are monitored.
We often find empty taxis rushing at breakneck speed to reach a destination as the driver who arrives first get to pick up the passenger.
This is especially true for a good trip such as to the airport. However, for short trips during the rush hour, one may have to call several radio taxi companies and would be lucky if one taxi shows up.
Radio-taxi companies can always up their ante by selecting their better drivers and train them on courtesy, especially towards women. If this is successful, women taxi drivers would lose the advantage. Strength is also needed to lift heavy people and wheelchairs.
Placing a “Teksi Wanita” sticker on the front windscreen can also attract unwanted attention. Both the driver and passengers may be seen as easy target by carjackers and robbers.
Introducing a new mechanism for the “Teksi” sign box on the car roof to flash is the best protection for a taxi driver in distress. It also deters crimes.
Training women taxi drivers in self-defense is good but the key to staying out of trouble is knowing how to “read” a customer before accepting the trip.
Depending on radio calls and bookings by regular passengers will not generate sufficient trips.
An alternative is to work as a paid driver with fixed salary or allowance plus incentives. Several executive taxi companies are looking for good drivers, male or female. However, one has to put in 12 hours a day with most of the time spent waiting for trips at a hotel.
For most people, the better proposition is to take up a salaried job. Apart from more stable income, low risk and the usual benefits, they can look forward to annual increment and bonus plus a nest egg in the form of EPF.
Of all the women taxi drivers that I know, one stood out. She was petite and looked more like a waitress in a classy restaurant.
She applied to be a limousine taxi driver and came with a PSV. I tested her driving.
Being new to Kuala Lumpur, she kept glancing at a map while driving confidently from Segambut to Jalan Sultan Ismail.
I hired her but she did not work for long.
She used to work in a Penang restaurant where she met an expatriate who was later transferred. However, it did not take him long to come back for her. This time, he asked for her hand and she accepted.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur
No comments:
Post a Comment