I refer to the letter More taxis won't solve taxi industry's woes .

Reading a newpaper report regarding the deteriorating taxi service in the country, I have come to the conclusion that taxi drivers are also victims of the decreasing quality of life in the city.

Public outcry is understandable, made worse with the incessant reporting by the media of cabbies overcharging and route-choosing.

What the public doesn't seem to understand is that unlike petty traders that can react and increase their prices to alleviate the effects of the increasing cost-of-living, taxi drivers do not have that luxury.

Instead, they are stuck in the economic trap with the only way out being to scheme, tout and overcharge their way out of it.

Calls for the Commercials Vehicles Licensing Board to increase taxi metre fares have fallen on deaf ears, with the rejection’s rationale being that raising taxi fares will further hurt the public and economy, and cause increased inflation.

Going along with the argument by the CVLB, I am rather perplexed as to how many average Malaysian uses the taxi service on a daily service.

I have heard of members of the public relying on busses and the LRT for their daily commute, but interestingly there has never been any talk of how many Malaysians are totally dependent on taxis for their daily commute.

I say let us commission a study to find out what are the exact numbers. And I will wager a bet that the number is small, or even more correctly - insignificant.

Let's do a survey around KL, and ask people this question - ‘How many times have you taken a taxi in the last seven days?’ Upon getting the answer, the second question should be, ‘For what purpose do you normally take a taxi?’

These two questions will shed light on the frequency of taxi usage by the average Malaysian, and also for what purposes they are used.

The point here (if I have been beating around the bush) is that majority of taxi users here in KL are either a) tourists, or b)Malaysians who use the taxi services because the costs are reimbursable.

Category A won’t mind paying two or three ringgit more, and Category B users also won’t mind because its their employers who are paying for the service.

As long as it is reimbursable, any extra charge will be tolerated, as long as it is not exorbitant or over-the-roof.

So the argument that increasing taxi fares will hurt Joe Public does not hold water. Please increase the taxi fares. Help the taxi drivers make a decent living.

I am sure they will move away from their touting ways once the fares are increased. Good service and smiling faces will return to our road ambassadors.