AIRPORT general manager Alfonso Cusi has finally made good on his promise that the efficient metered taxi service at the Manila Domestic Airport will be available in the other air terminals. Although I have been waiting for it since last year, I am glad Cusi has finally ironed out all the kinks and made the plan operational.
I have not been through the old Ninoy Aquino International Airport or the new but already breaking apart Terminal 3 but at the Centennial Terminal that is exclusive to Philippine Air Lines the metered taxi service is off and running.
I tried the service recently on my return from a brief trip abroad and I must say I am pleased. It is more expensive than the regular taxi?P70 for flagdown and P4 every 300 meters?but still a lot cheaper than the coupon taxis that used to be the only option for international travelers unless you wanted to carry your bags to the departure area on the upper floor to catch one of the cabs dropping off a departing passenger.
From the Centennial Terminal to my apartment in Malate my fare amounted to P187.50. I used to pay P430 for the same distance when I took the coupon taxi.
Domestic arrivals at the Centennial terminal will have a longer walk to the metered taxi stand but they will probably find the walk worth it.
People taking the metered taxi get a dispatch slip, a piece of paper indicating the cab?s plate number as well as numbers to call in case the customer wants to make a complaint.
The taxi is clean and new and the driver looks neat in his uniform. He is also courteous. Best thing of all for me, the meter is mounted on the dashboard in view of the passenger at all times. I did not have to risk a broken neck twisting my head this way and that to catch a glimpse of meters that are placed on the floor behind the gear shift in most ordinary taxicabs.
I do not know why the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board does not require taxi meters to be installed in a spot where they can easily be seen by passengers. It could not be for aesthetic reasons that those machines are hidden from view. As the metered taxis at the Centennial terminal proved, they can be in plain sight without being eyesores.
Congratulations to general manager Cusi. I just hope the service does not change or turn into another ningas-kugon initiative.
Talking of taxis, there are a few that did not bother to get the authorization to collect an additional P10. Passengers should not pay P10 more if the cabs do not have such authorization. They are supposed to be displayed prominently so the passenger would not have any doubt about the need to pay the extra amount.
I was in a taxi once where tiny stickers were placed in all the doors advising passengers to pay the extra P10. I told the driver the tiny stickers were not acceptable substitutes for the authorization.
Clarification
Reader Jaime B. Cuyco of Sta. Cruz, Manila, wanted to know the truth about tests for melamine of his favorite Snickers Chocolate by Mars Food. He said while the local Bureau of Food and Drugs, one of the agencies under the Department of Health, said no melamine was found in Snickers, reports from South Korea said the same products imported from China, where melamine contamination occurred, were found to have the hazardous substances.
Concerned that the Philippines also imported Snickers from China and could thus be contaminated, he wanted clarification from BFAD.
We forwarded his query to BFAD and got this response: ?Based on DOH-BFAD Advisory No. 2008-009 dated 03 October 2008, the Snickers product that was found negative for melamine was Snickers Fresh Roasted in Caramel & Soft Nougat in Thick Milk Chocolate. This is one of the samples collected by the food-drug regulation officers and was forwarded to the laboratory for analysis.?
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