SANDAKAN: The Sandakan Taxi Association (STA) and the Sandakan Bumiputera Taxi and Car Rental Association have requested the authority to consider extending the coverage of their operation up to Beluran and Kinabatangan.
STA chairman Hiew Su Vun claimed that the taxi operation service in the district is limited up to the junction at Mile 32.
The limitation imposed by the authority has encouraged a number of ‘pirate taxi’ operators to take advantage of the situation and this affected the income of legitimate taxi drivers.
“As registered taxi drivers, we hope that the coverage of our operation could be extended up to Beluran and Kinabatangan to enable the public to fully utilise our services,” he said during a dialogue session between members of the associations and officers of the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) Sandakan branch at Bandar Indah here.
The associations also submitted a plea to the CVLB to review the taxi fare from the Sandakan airport to the town centre.
“Considering the taxi fare in other towns, now is a suitable time to review the rate from the airport to the town centre,” Hiew said.
Meanwhile, the head of the CVLB in Sandakan, Ismail Awang Damit, advised the associations to submit their application in writing to enable appropriate action to be taken.
“We suggest that the associations submit their application to the CVLB for consideration.
“On the issue of unregistered taxi service, the matter comes under the jurisdiction of the Road Transport Department (RTD) and the police,” Ismail explained.