Transport board starts crackdown on picky cabbies

Starting tomorrow, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be deploying over 100 of its enforcers and personnel to various malls all over Metro Manila to go after taxi drivers who refuse to ferry passengers or charge fixed, exorbitant rates this holiday season.

In line with the agency’s Oplan “Isnabero” campaign, the agency will set up assistance desks in the malls’ taxi bays to protect passengers from abusive drivers, especially in the days leading to Christmas and New Year. Without giving specifics, LTFRB Chair Martin Delgra III said that during this period, the agency sees a spike in the number of complaints against taxi drivers.

Under the campaign, 30 enforcers and another 90 LTFRB employees will be deployed to Araneta Center, Starmall, Landmark, SM, Robinson Malls and Ayala Malls. The LTFRB’s regional offices have also been encouraged to copy the initiative in their respective areas.

Delgra said that their personnel would help ensure that taxi drivers have coin boxes inside their cabs and would not refuse to ferry passengers or negotiate for higher fares. Should the LTFRB receive a complaint against a taxi driver, he will be slapped with a P5,000-fine.

On his third offense, the driver will be meted out a P15,000-fine while his franchise to operate will be revoked. Earlier, the Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection said they would assign volunteer lawyers to high-traffic areas such as malls and bus terminals to give the public “on-the-spot legal assistance” against unscrupulous taxi drivers. —JOVIC YEE