REPORTS of overcharging, outright robbery and other abuses being perpetrated by crooked taxi drivers destroy our country’s image and leave a bad impression on tourists.
One case does not make a crisis, but when there is a spate of abuses involving taxi drivers, then transport authorities must act accordingly. If the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) can crack down on TNVS (transport network vehicles service) drivers and operators who lack the necessary permits, then they should also be able to impose stricter regulations on regular taxi drivers and operators.
Taxi drivers are tourism front liners. They usually are the first persons that meet the tourists at the airports, bus terminals and piers. It simply is not “fun in the Philippines” with crooked taxi drivers around.
In March 2019, Ukrainian Ivan Brygar, on his first visit to the Philippines to attend a triathlon competition, complained of being victimized by a taxi scam at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3. Upon arrival, he was looking for a shuttle bus to take him to Terminal 4 for his connecting flight to Davao City when an accomplice of a crooked airport driver offered “to help.” The guy, according to Brygar, grabbed his boarding pass and led him to a taxi, with the assurance that he will be charged a regular fare. Instead, he was forced to pay P2,400 for the short trip between terminals.
In April 2019, a taxi driver was arrested for robbing an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who arrived from Hong Kong. Karen Mitschel and a companion took a regular taxi from Naia Terminal 2 to a bus station along Edsa in Pasay City. Instead of the basic meter charge, they were also forced to pay P2,400.
Mitschel asked the driver to stop at a foreign-exchange shop so her friend could get pesos for her, but after her friend alighted the taxi, the driver drove off with her still inside. He then forcibly took her cell phone and dollars and left her along the C-5 extension in Las Piñas.
In May 2019, a taxi driver scammed an Austrian couple that hailed a ride from Naia Terminal 1. He was eventually apprehended, his license was revoked and his operator’s taxi fleet was banned from the airport.
You would think crooked taxi drivers would have learned their lesson by this time, and yet just a couple of weeks ago, a Korean lady tourist complained of being charged P1,500 by a taxi driver who took her from the airport to Bonifacio Global City. She insisted on a meter-based fare, to no avail. She paid the amount because she feared for her safety as she was alone and it was her first time in Manila.
These are just some of many taxi terror tales. Of course, not all taxi drivers are devious. Many of them are honest, courteous and competent. But how could a passenger know which taxi driver is good and which one is not?
The LTFRB should hold taxi operators accountable for screening their drivers and keeping a close watch on their performance. Just like Grab and other ride-hailing services, regular taxis should have an efficient booking and feedback system for passengers, which effectively punishes errant drivers and rewards the good and honest ones.
The police and other government agencies should also help the taxi operators weed out crooked drivers by having a hot line for complaints, which must be acted upon fast, and by conducting spot checks and random drug tests.
For instance, the driver who robbed an OFW had already been arrested for threatening and overcharging a passenger in 2017. Why was he still driving a taxi?
Congress should also revive and pass House Bill 7774, which would establish a list of unassailable passenger rights, including the right to be picked up and transported to their destination “regardless of the length of the journey or traffic condition,” thereby prohibiting taxi drivers from refusing a trip once they have been flagged down by a passenger. The bill also mandates that passengers only “pay the rate or fare exactly posted in the meter or booking application.”
Hopefully, through these collaborative efforts, we can have more honest, courteous and competent taxi drivers who can give tourists a good impression and make visitors look forward to returning to the Philippines.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano