KOTA KINABALU – Suffering from low monthly income due to competition from e-hailing operators, Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) taxi drivers are calling for the chairman of the Sabah Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), Datuk Chin Kim Hiung, to step down.
About 180 taxi drivers at the airport said Chin has failed to uphold his promise to put a stop to e-hailing drivers waiting within the vicinity of the airport.
According to KKIA Limousine and Taxi Association chairman Shamsuddin Mohd Shah, the drivers held exclusive rights to operate within the vicinity of KKIA while it was off-limits for e-hailing drivers to wait in the area.
“E-hailing drivers are only allowed to wait outside of the airport and passengers need to walk out of the airport before they can hire e-hailing drivers,” said Shamsuddin.
He claimed that e-hailing drivers refused to heed the boundary limits under this “geo-fencing” system.
Shamsuddin was met today during a press conference at KKIA.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd has announced that e-hailing drivers are not allowed to wait for passengers at Kota Kinabalu International Airport since 2018.
The agreement was made after a meeting between Malaysia Airports, CVLB, the Road Transport Department and KKIA Limousine and Taxi Association in conjunction with the implementation of geo-fencing.
Under the agreement, a dedicated waiting area was designated for e-hailing drivers at KKIA Terminal 2. CVLB registered drivers would be able to pick up passengers in front of the domestic arrival lobby and make drop-offs at the end of Terminal 1 on the airport’s departure level.
According to Shamsuddin, none of these have been implemented. Despite complaints to Chin, the state government and the authorities, nothing had been resolved.
He claimed that Chin has failed to protect the rights and livelihoods of KKIA taxi drivers by doing nothing to resolve the issue.
Shamsuddin said things are about to get worse now that another taxi company is requesting to be allowed to operate at KKIA, while they have also been instructed to relocate their regular stations further into the KKIA parking lot.
“The place has no toilet and there are mosquitoes and insects in the new waiting spot.
“Now a new taxi company is planning to disrupt our livelihood which is already burdened by e-hailing and the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.
A 62-year-old taxi driver said most KKIA taxi drivers only got about one trip per day.
“The highest fare we could get in a day is RM30. All in all, we are only earning around RM450 a month.
“Do you think this is enough to survive for a month? All that salary, and deducting the fuel and maintenance of our taxis, just how much can we bring home? How are we supposed to survive?
“What is the government doing? Aren’t they supposed to protect the people?” he said.
Chin, when contacted, said the CVLB will issue a response later. – The Vibes, January 18, 2022
