The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday that it is investigating if new taxi meters have glitches following a complaint that the receipts produced by the meters contain inappropriate remarks that have offended passengers.
A taxi driver told the Chinese-language Apple Daily that she was scolded by an international tourist because the receipt produced by the new meter had the sentence “You are a Pig” printed on the top. The driver said that she had used the meter for about a month and had not paid attention to what is printed on top of the receipt.
Chu Da-ching (朱大慶), a section head, said that the ministry received the complaint this week, adding that the driver could return the meter to the retailer and ask for the content displayed on the top of the receipt to be changed.
“Some people may want to display the name of their taxi company or their name and telephone number to advertise their services, and the retailer should follow their customers’ instructions and change the text accordingly. I don’t know why such an offensive remark would appear on the receipt,” he said.
Chu said that it is not possible for taxi drivers to change the meters by themselves and they need to go to the retailer. The retailer sets the rates published by local authorities where the taxi is to be used, he said.
Both the Taxi Service Association and Taipei Taxi Drivers Union said that they have not received complaints from other drivers, adding that the “glitch” might have been an incident created by a meter manufacturer looking to sully the name of a competitor.
Chu said that the serial number of the meter had been handed to the Vehicle Safety Certification Center, which would interview both the driver and the meter manufacturer to identify the cause of the glitch. He added that the manufacturer would have a mechanism to trace any changes made to the meter.
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