For the information of members, Macau’s local TV Station TDM carried a news item on its English language news service last Saturday (12 July 2014) regarding our Macau Taxi Driver Shame Facebook group. You can see the story at portugues.tdm.mo/evideo.php?vid=7236 from 16:25 to 19:05. The story involved interviews with 2 people: > Che Sai Wang, Head of the Transport Management Division, DSAT > Tony Kuok, Director of the Macau Taxi Drivers Mutual Help Association * Both of them: > admit there are problems > say it is hard to collect evidence > believe the law should be tightened * Che Sai Wang (Head of the Transport Management Division, DSAT), said: > It is hard for them to issue fines because complainants generally don’t agree to be a witness > The Transport Bureau has 6 officials to inspect 1,100 taxis > In the first half of 2014 they received 1,340 complaints of which only 33 resulted in fines > Most complaints related to overcharging or refusing to take passengers > A revision to the regulations are being considered to revise the fine up from MOP$1,000 to MOP$3,000 to MOP$5,000 > DSAT is considering introducing undercover agents and new technology to collect more evidence * Tony Kuok (Director of the Macau Taxi Drivers Mutual Help Association), said: > The lack of effective punishment means the drivers are not afraid of punishment > The fine is only MOP$1,000 which can be earned by carrying just one more overcharged fare > They also want the regulations revised very soon > The government should build better roads and control the growth of vehicles on the road > Last October they proposed an increase in the flag fall price but haven’t received a reply from the government > Guaranteeing a better livelihood for the drivers will help to improve the services
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 06:06:10 +0000