Sunday September 24, 2006
Digital meter reprogrammed to move faster
KUALA LUMPUR: Commuters have long suspected that some taxis have tampered meters, but the problem was to get a cabbie to confess.
Newspapers have received complaints from readers through e-mail and SMSes that different taxis charged different rates for the same route with the usual excuse being the traffic jam.
Many tourists have complained that they paid RM30 to RM40 to get from KLCC to Times Square in Bukit Bintang here (normal fare: RM5-RM6) and they could not do much because the taxi meters showed that amount.
Sunday Star has found out that cabbies use two ways to fleece commuters.
One way is to reprogramme the digital meter so that the fare will change at a much faster rate.
The other way is to connect wires to the motherboard from behind the meter and connect them to a small switch which is normally located either on the dashboard, near the seatbelt connector or next to the accelerator.
The switch does not make any noise when it is pressed by the cabbie.
A larger switch is used if it is placed next to the accelerator. Each time the switch is pressed, the meter reading will change.
A taxi driver, who declined to be named, said: “It costs only about RM30 to get a technician to reprogramme the meter. After that, instead of the meter jumping after the first km, it will jump after 800m or any other distance depending on how it is reprogrammed.
“After the first km, the taxi fare is to be 10 sen for every 150m, but the reprogrammed meter will jump after 100m or thereabouts.
“When the taxi is sent for Puspakom inspection, the cabbies will ask the technicians to reprogramme the meters to the original settings. After passing the test, they will be reprogrammed again.”
He said the technicians are well-versed with programming digital meters.
As for the other method, the back panel is unscrewed and a hole drilled in it for the wires to be soldered to the motherboard. The meter is accessed from behind so that the seals at the front of the meter are not broken.
It costs about RM100 to get the wiring and switch fixed. The system is disconnected for Puspakom checks.
According to an operator of a fleet of 200 taxis, tampering with meters is common among budget taxis because it is more difficult to tamper with premier taxi meters.
He estimated that about 30% of taxis in the Kuala Lumpur-Petaling Jaya area have tampered meters. There are some 20,000 taxies in the Klang Valley.
He added that cabbies driving taxis with tampered meters operate around KLCC and other tourist spots.
DUDE !.....we know all this hanky panky since day one....but the problem is...they know the problem and no one will fix it ....why ? I don't know... and tell you the truth...my curiosity of wanting to know has diminished since way long back....
Any way ... I just want people to be more alert when they hope into the cap because it can really hurt...
visit the online GPD autostore ...
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