‘Little ambassadors’ taken for a ride

Airport Limousine Malaysia (ALM) is accused of raking in millions in profit while the taxi drivers struggle to earn a living.

SEPANG: The government calls them Malaysia’s “little ambassadors”. But these people who sit behind the wheels of airport limousines are being taken for a ride by errant taxi companies.

During a visit to the Airport Limo Malaysia (ALM) office near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), FMT spoke to a source from ALM to find out more.

The source said that in order to become a taxi driver, the applicant needed to pay a deposit of RM4,500 for a new cab while a second-hand cab would cost about RM2,000.

“That is excluding a radio deposit of RM500, agreement fee of RM100 and a safety kit deposit of RM150 which includes a first aid kit, fire extingusher and a safety triangle,” he added.

But what hurts the most, said the source, was that budget limousine taxi drivers at KLIA needed to fork out RM152 in daily rental.

The following is the breakdown of the rental charge: (insert table)

Daily radio rental unfair

For starters, the source said that it was unfair for ALM to charge the budget limousine taxi drivers a daily rental for the radio when the latter already paid a deposit.

He pointed out that even a new driver was forced to pay deposit for the radio although the cab might have one installed beforehand.

“And the RM1 insurance fee is also questionable as ALM only takes a third party insurance for them. If the taxi driver meets an accident, the driver has to pay for repairs,” he said.

In addition, the source said, nobody knew why the company charged an additional “welfare fee” of RM10 for taxi drivers when they were already paying another similar fee of RM5.

“It’s not like ALM conducts events or celebrates any occasion with the taxi drivers. At most, the taxi drivers get RM350 if they are hospitalised. Besides, why can’t the company bear the expenses of the taxi drivers’ medical claims like what other private companies do?” he asked.

Queried on why the taxi drivers were required to pay a sub-daily charge, the source was also in the dark over the matter.

The source added that through the rentals, ALM was raking in millions in profits at the expense of poor budget limousine taxi drivers.

“There are about 700 budget airport limousine taxis. ALM also has about 200 premier airport limousine taxis and about 100 luxury aiport limousine taxis and vans. From the RM152 daily charges, ALM makes about RM106,400 a day just from the budget taxis. That stands at more than RM3 million a month.

“But an average budget limousine taxi driver makes about RM3,000 a month by working 16 to 18 hours a day. Is that fair?” he asked.

‘Complainants’ cabs confiscated’
The source revealed that ALM also made deductions from the coupon system imposed at KLIA.

Citing an example, he said that ALM deducted RM1 for trips that cost less than RM50 and RM2 for trips that costs more.

“In order to make RM100 a day in profit, the budget limousine taxi driver has to make six trips from Kuala Lumpur to KLIA, which means RM12 is deducted by ALM.

“With 700 budget limousine taxi drivers, ALM makes an additional RM8,400 a day which translates into RM252,000 a month in additonal revenue by doing nothing,” he added.

On why the taxi drivers failed to lodge a complaint on the matter, the source said there was a group who voiced their objection recently.

“But ALM confiscated their cabs, depriving them of their livelihood,” he claimed.