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KL cabbies the worst, says UK taxi rating site

Malaysian taxi drivers are gaining international recognition - or rather, infamy - for their bad attitude.

British taxi comparison site LondonCabs.co.uk has placed Kuala Lumpur taxi drivers at the top of a list comparing the 10 worst taxi drivers across the globe.

"Drivers from Kuala Lumpur are well known for overcharging clients and detouring.

"Even though they are supposed to charge by the meter, many drivers refuse from doing so," said LondonCabs.

"The best advice is to simply wait for another vehicle if the driver resists using the meter," it said.

The article further described taxis in Kuala Lumpur as "rather old and in poor condition".

Rome’s taxi drivers came in second after Kuala Lumpur for their exorbitant rates and rudeness.

"Most people cannot even find a vehicle available in Rome. Cars are scarce and the drivers are often rude and difficult to deal with," said LondonCabs.

"If it’s raining, expect to pay double or triple the price for a vehicle in Rome," it added.

Bangkok minicab drivers came in third in the list for drivers getting lost and not knowing the way.

Other cities that made the list were Paris, New York, Mumbai, Zurich, Cairo, Shanghai and Moscow.

LondonCabs said the 10 places listed had taxis that "you may be better off avoiding if you want to have a positive and uplifting transportation experience".

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/07/02/KL-cabbies-worst-among-ten-cities-globally/

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1

I totally agree!!!!
It's been known for a long time that KL taxis are awful. Many of the vehicles are in terrible condition, the driver smokes in between rides, some used to fiddle meter. Now the scary thing is some have mobile apps and they are so busy looking at the phone whilst driving that they forget to watch the road.

Even the official airport limos don't know how to get to places in KL, you think they would have satnav in order to be able to pick up pax in KL when taking them to the airport.

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2

Best way to safety and avoid overcharging download an apps called Myteksi in malaysia. The apps ensure that the taxi will only charge you according to meter reading, except between 00:00 - 06:00 there will be midnight charges.

Safety is increased as taxi driver info are recorded by the apps and they can ensure only ethical drivers serve you.

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3

Agree - they are really terrible. I always refuse to get in a taxi unless they put the meter on.

However, once a taxi driver told me a fare would be RM10, but when I asked him to put the meter on he agreed, so I got in. He then proceeded to drive around the city in as big a loop as possible so that the fare would be almost RM10. Ridiculous.

(note: I understand the motorway system and they often make a trip longer than expected, but I have a good idea of the layout of KL so I knew what the driver was doing, only I realised too late).

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4

Can anyone tell me out of thousands of cities in the world, how many were surveyed?

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5

I don't know which place I would assign to the taxis in KL, but what the survey writes is true. In some areas, for instance Bukit Bintang or Chinatown, it's almost impossible to find a taxi driver willing to use the meter.

Note however that taxis in other Malaysian cities, KK just to make an example, do not even have meters, so you could argue that these are even worse than KL.


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6

But how many cities surveyed? 100 cities of the world? 1000 cities?

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7

As bad as they are in KL, Rome HAS to be the worst. If you're italian you can get away but if you're a tourist you're gonna be overcharged like crazy. I never EVER take a cab here in Italy.

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8

I was surprised how honest taxi drivers in China, outside of Beijing and Shanghai, are!


Never try to whistle with a mouth full of custard.
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9

I just noticed mention of "rather old and in poor condition". Surely Nairobi wins hands-down on this count. I've been in Nairobi taxis where you can see the road through the hole in the floor, and others where I've had to hold the door shut the whole way so that it didn't swing open around corners.

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