Van sapu’ driving taxi drivers up the wall

LIMBANG: Taxi drivers in the state are angry with the mushrooming of pirate taxis, known locally as ‘van sapu’ or ‘ulat’, and want the relevant authorities to come down hard on these illegal operators.Members of the Associated Taxi Owner’s (Association of Sarawak) aired their displeasure at their annual general meeting here recently.

An association spokesman, Lias Julaihi, who is also deputy chairman of the association’s Miri branch, disclosed that the problem was becoming rampant in the state’s big towns.

“The operators of these pirate taxis are depriving us of our daily income. Unlike us, they don’t pay for licences to operate. They use their own vehicles to pick up passengers,” lamented Lias.
He said the Road Transport Department (RTD) should regularly conduct surprise checks to nab these pirate taxis which operate almost round the clock.

Meanwhile, an RTD representative, Logan Luta, who was also present at the AGM, said RTD had its own strategy to deal with the matter.

“We have a master plan to tackle this matter in the state. Every report and information we get will be given to the higher authorities for follow-up action,” said Logan.



April 13, 2010, Tuesday

Posted by Lawasian on Selasa, April 13, 2010. Filed under Keluhan, Perkhidmatan . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry