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Consumer and cab groups put brakes on proposal

WITH the London underground train system announcing that it will launch a 24-hour weekend service next year and an increase in the price of fuel, can a 24-hour train service be made available here?

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca)  president Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason highlighted two major questions which must be looked into first.

“What will be done about the safety of commuters? As we know, safety in Malaysia is questionable after 12 midnight. It must be subject to proper security, such as closed-circuit television system and all that,” said Marimuthu.

Besides safety, he said it was questionable whether providing such a service would be profitable and whether the cost of operating for 24 hours a day would be passed down to consumers.

“Who will bear the cost? It could be double. Is it profitable?” asked Marimuthu.

He pointed out that not as many jobs took place during the hours that commuter trains did not currently run.

“Let’s say that one train can carry around 500 people, but what if there are only 20 or 30 travellers on it?” he asked, adding that further information was needed on its feasibility.

“I don’t mind if a thorough study can be done on this,” said Marimuthu.

Metered Taxi Drivers Task Force chairman Amran Jan said providing round-the-clock commuter train services would be good for consumers, but would be an additional, albeit small, burden on taxi drivers.

“I think the effect won’t be that big on taxi drivers because no matter how many stations there are, even with the MRT coming, we don’t see how it would clearly impact taxi drivers.

“For passengers, it will be good because now that the price of fuel has gone up, people will have more options to cut costs, but the all-round effect will be small,” said Amran.

He said this was because of Malaysian attitude, pointing out that the issue of a 24-hour train service probably arose because of the fuel price increase.

“The effect will be small because of the attitude of our people. Even when costs go up, those using private cars will keep using their vehicles.”

He also pointed out that taxi drivers were not relying too much on picking up passengers after midnight.

“After midnight, even though the charge is doubled, the fares are like leftovers.”

However, Amran said taxi drivers were becoming more marginalised by a multitude of challenges, including the use of the social vehicle-for-hire service Uber.