Various parties interviewed by Bernama expressed positive feedback regarding the Land Transport Commission’s (Spad) move to allow city taxis to operate at the KL International Airport (KLIA) effective today.

Met at level one of the KLIA main terminal, Fazilah Siraj, 54, said the move saved time and gave passengers more choices in terms of pricing. 

“I’m taking a city taxi from the airport for the first time. I think it’s good to have a choice of limousine or city taxis. And we don’t have to queue up for a long time,” she said.

On Monday, Spad chairperson Syed Hamid Albar announced that city taxis were allowed to operate at level one of the KLIA main terminal while limousine taxis would operate as usual at level three.

The same opinion was shared by another passenger R Murali, 49, who said, “This will save us time and cost. And we don’t have to depend only on limousine taxis any more.”

However, William Lee, 63, said, “I’m still not clear on the charges for the city taxis and how the service would ensure passenger safety. But I’m happy that we have more choices now.” 

Meanwhile, several city taxi drivers who were interviewed shared their excitement and appreciation on being allowed to finally pick up passengers from the airport.

Hayat Ali Mohamad, 41, who has been a taxi driver for three years, felt that the positive change was another proof of the government’s efforts to improve their lives.  

“Before this we could only send passengers to KLIA. But we couldn’t pick up anyone. Now we don’t have to waste time, toll and fuel driving an empty taxi back to KL,” he said. 

Woman taxi driver Halimah Ibrahim, 35, said she was happy with the decision as it could improve her income.

“I’m just a bit confused about the areas covered. For example I can only drop off passengers up to the Klang Valley. I know it’s all right for Malacca and Cameron Highlands as they’re tourist destinations. But what about Ipoh, Perak for example?” she said. 

Nadirman Nadar, 56, who has been driving a taxi for 15 years, said it was a great step as there were more passengers at KLIA compared to the Low Cost Carrier terminal (LCCT). 

“It’s good for us as I think there are more passengers at KLIA compared to LCCT,” he said.

Bernama saw several Spad personnel monitoring the city taxis at level one of the KLIA main terminal this morning. 

They were mainly focusing on briefing the taxi drivers on providing better customer service. 

- Bernama