Manila Cab Chronicles: Receipt-Generating Taxi Meters

One recent morning, I was surprised when I boarded my taxi: the cab’s meter looked nothing I saw before – it’s the new model presumably being required of all Manila taxi operators by the Land Transportation Office (LTO):

My Shiro Taxi cabbie said the LTO now requires operators to purchase the new electronic meter upon renewal of the vehicle’s registration and have it installed in their taxi units. He told me that his operator bought a batch of the new meters last December 2008 right after the LTO announcement that receipt-generating meters should now be used by all Manila taxicabs.

Apparently, the Shiro Taxi operator was very compliant as his unit’s plate number was TWS 361and the registration for which was scheduled still a month later -- last January 2009. According to my cabbie, the deadline for the installation of the new taxi meters is August 2009. He also told me that small operators having few taxi units in his fleet are complaining of such LTO directive as each new digital meter costs around Php 17,000. (I think there would be no surprise at all if some irresponsible operators will be passing-on the cost to hapless cabbies.)

He said one of the downsides of the new metering scheme for drivers like him is the cost of the thermal receipts. He has to shelve Php 60 for each small roll of the receipt that, he said, he buys at the LTO. For how long does a roll last, I wasn’t able to ask (or I think he said a roll usually takes three days to be consumed – I can’t fully remember.)

In any case, the new receipt-issuing taximeter is a very welcome sight for regular cab passengers like me who has generally become distrustful of most Manila cab drivers because their dishonesty in using de-calibrated metering machines.

Before getting off the taxi, I requested for the receipt and my driver politely tore off the piece of paper from the SMV Electronic Taximeter and gave it to me. Here’s what it looks like:

And here are the information indicated in the receipt:
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Taxi Company’s Name: Shiro Taxi
Taxi Company Address: 13 Fushsia St., Del Nacia, Sauyo, Novaliches, Q.C.
TIN #: 219-264-748-000 NON-VAT
Contact Number: 984-1473


OR #: 002058-1
Serial #: D11404
Date: Feb-17-2009
Time: 7:53:37
Taxi Name: Shiro Taxi
Taxi No.: 0007
Color Code: White
Driver Code: 0001
Plate Number: TWS-361
H/Time: 7:21 – 7:53
W/Time: 0:02:51
Distance: 15.5 km.
Fare: P160.00


Thank you for riding
This serves as an official receipt
POS#


Permit#
116-000400152-000206-6571
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I find some of the information revealing: H/Time, which I suppose is my total Hire Time for the cab, is 32 minutes (W/Time probably stands for the Waiting Time or the total time the vehicle is at full stop for the entire duration of the trip. So, if indeed Waiting Time is 00:02:51, then total productive time for the cab is 00:29:01). If for every 32 minutes, the fare amounts to Php 160.00, then non-stop 24-hour operations for a cabbie translates to Php 7,200 in revenues.

If for a 24-hour period, a cabbie has a passenger for only 50 % of the time, then his net income would be around Php 700 (i.e., Php 3,600 less both Php 1,400 for a full-tank fuel expense and Php 1,500 for the taxi “boundary”, as it is called in taxi lingo, or the cabbie’s payment to the operator for the rental of the latter’s unit).

This take-home pay of Php 700, which I think is a minimum, is not at all bad for a normal and honest work-day by a Manila cabbie.