EDITORIAL - When drivers become swindlers

A video that’s now making its rounds on social media shows a taxi driver charging a passenger ?1,260 for the short ride between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 and Terminal 2.

When the passenger who shot the video asked how he arrived at such an amount he used his cellphone to calculate and arrive at what he was asking for, not the taxi meter. He eventually brought it down to ?1,100, still an absurd price for such a distance.

Such incidents make our blood boil; it’s sad that there are some of us, especially those who are driving public transport, who think nothing of fleecing others.

But it turns out that overcharging wasn’t the only offense committed; the provisional authority of the company the taxi driver works for already expired in March, meaning the entire fleet of taxis of this company has been operating without a franchise.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered the cancellation of the driver’s license of the offending taxi driver and added they are now planning to file charges against the owner of the company. To be fair, the company has apologized for the incident and promised a refund, but this comes too little and too late for the damage done.

The passenger who reported the incident may not have been the first person this taxi driver conned. Maybe the temptation is greater --and the amount charged higher-- when it comes to foreign tourists.

We are sure he isn’t alone in such a practice either.

It’s sad to say that many cabbies in Manila are among the worst in the world when it comes to charging passengers. Many of them don’t use the taxi meter and insist on a fixed rate for a particular location, reasoning that times are hard for them. Many of them don’t even give change. We have already mentioned overcharging.

Yes, times are hard for everyone and being a taxi driver isn’t exactly an easy job, especially in Metro Manila where traffic can be horrendous at certain hours, but this doesn’t give them the excuse to turn swindlers, especially when passengers need them most.

Examples must be set to punish and also dissuade such despicable behavior.