Please Take Us For A Ride, Mr Taxi

The one thing I hated the most when travelling to Kuala Lumpur is the inflated taxi fare that was quoted for a short ride. I was always being treated as "foreigner", especially when I don't speak Cantonese with Chinese driver.

I remember once I wanted to visit the renowned KLCC and was shocked when the driver told me "RM30" to get there from Starhill area. I am not new to KL city and know well the the reasonable fare to get from point A to point B. I instantly turned down the offer and decided to use the cheapest mean, my legs to get there. It is a long and sweaty 30mins walking journey but I am glad that I don't have to part with my RM30 for such a short ride. We should not penalize all taxi drivers for one's deed because once in a while, I still managed to get in a taxi without much needed to bargain as the meter is on. However, situation almost get out of hand during festive season when I was quoted by every single taxi driver that I have approached for "RM20" for a nearby destination.

Today, I learned from newspaper that the drivers are able to inflate the fares even when using the meter by modifying the meter system and with simple trigger, the magic is on. How dishearting is this piece of news.. Please take us for a ride, mr taxi.

For those that are interested to see some stats on the tourist review, do visit www.virtualtourist.com, search for Kuala Lumpur, click on the tourist trap for taxi scam and enjoy the ride. Oh, by the way, the modification on the meter is nothing new, someone mentioned about that in the review and it was.......year 2004!