So far in this trip, I have enough experience of taking taxi to actually share these tips with you. The place where I am attending the course is a good 20km away from Kuala Lumpur; it is actually located in Shah Alam, the capital of the state of Selangor.
On the first day, I asked the Hotel's Concierge to get me a taxi. Instead of the normal red-colour taxi, I got this rebadged Kia Carens taxi. On top of it was a label 'Executive Taxi'. I did not have a good feeling about it, but I was already late and could not afford to be choosy. I also thought that it would be embarrassing to bail out and ask for the normal taxi. As soon I board the taxi, I noticed that the flagdown rate was RM6! I could not remember if flagdown rate was that expensive, so I looked around for the fare notice. To my astonishment, it stated that the flagdown rate is RM6 for the first 1km and every subsequent 100m would cost 20cents. At the end, when I arrived at my destination the total taxi fare was RM50!
The next day, I did a little experiment. Instead of taking a taxi from the hotel, I walked a bit to the entrance of the mall, which is attached to the hotel. From there, I took the normal red-cloured taxi. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the flagdown rate was RM2 for the first 2km and 10cents for every subsequent 150m. At the start of the taxi ride, the taxi driver asked for some extra charge and we agreed that I'd pay RM30 or whatever it said by the meter if it was higher than RM30. At the end, when I arrived, the meter charge was RM18 and I think the driver was a bit embarrassed to ask for RM30, that he actually asked for RM25.
There is also this other type of taxi called the Premier taxi. I used it before once during my last trip to KL. The flagdown rate and every subsequent 100m were cheaper than those for Executive taxi, but more expensive than those for the normal red-coloured taxi. These taxis are either Proton Perdana or the bigger-sized and apparently environmentally-friendly taxis.
When you fly into KLIA and take the Airport Express Train to KL Sentral, I'd suggest that you take the prepaid budget taxi and get a coupon from the counter. Premier Taxis are also available, but they are obviously more expensive than the budget onea and they are not really better cars. The budget taxi saves you the trouble of looking for a taxi and haggling for the taxi fare.
It is also quite important to make sure that the taxi driver knows the location of your intended destination. This morning, I spent an hour in a taxi as the taxi driver lost his way towards the training place. We ended making some detour to other parts of the state of Selangor! And it could eventually become more costly!
When you are out and about in the evenings, it is important to remember that for some reasons the meters on the taxis seem to inoperable. The taxi drivers are the taxi meter and they would actually tell you the fare beforehand. And when they do that, they tend to charge unbelievably sky-high rate. There was once a taxi driver who wanted to charge me RM10 for a taxi ride from Bukit Bintang to KLCC, where it would normally cost RM4 in average.
Read this for the 5 things you need to know about KL taxi drivers.
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4 comments:
It's useful to have the photos of the taxi's. Good idea. I always advise our guests on the different types of taxis in KL and also how they should insist on asking taxi drivers to use the meter.
Most of our guests come from overseas to stay in our apartment in KL and taxi drivers are known to take advantage of foreigners. The blue "Premiere" taxi's don't take advantage, but they are twice as expensive as the normal red ones.
I calculated that a 15 minute taxi journey should cost about RM8 when using a meter.
Jake,
Many thanks for your comment.
I really make it a point that I insist on taking taxis with working meters. I have had my fair share amount of taxi drivers who would mutter something under their breath when I refused to take their taxi with sky-high fares.
I spoke to my many Malaysian friends, and the taxi drivers do not just target foreigners; many Malaysians also fall victims to these taxi drivers.
However I spoke to some taxi drivers who explained the reasons that they had to resort to charging unmetered fare. They are being held at the whims of the private companies from whom they rent their taxis from. The taxi drivers also feel that the government is not doing anything to protect the taxi drivers. Their rights, their safety and their welfare are not protected by the government. I felt sorry when I heard the stories that the taxi drivers told me.
Use Saparee when you're in KL. He's funny, friendly and speaks decent English. He's very knowledgeable on where to find specific types of Malaysian food
013-2115302
RM35/hour for 0 - 5 hours
RM30/hour for 5 - 10 hours
RM25/hour for 10+ hours
Per trip rates are decent too. He charged me RM55 from my hotel in Shah Alam to KLIA. That included tolls. I tipped him heavily :)
Tell him Ruth from Washington or Maria from Los Angeles sent you
Use Saparee when you're in KL. He's funny, friendly and speaks decent English. He's very knowledgeable on where to find specific types of Malaysian food
013-2115302
RM35/hour for 0 - 5 hours
RM30/hour for 5 - 10 hours
RM25/hour for 10+ hours
Per trip rates are decent too. He charged me RM55 from my hotel in Shah Alam to KLIA. That included tolls. I tipped him heavily :)
Tell him Ruth from Washington or Maria from Los Angeles sent you
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