TAXI driver Jasbeer Singh says all cabbies should "go NGV".

However, he said the limited number of NGV pumps in Kuala Lumpur was reducing the positive impact of converting to NGV.

"Going NGV" enabled taxi drivers to earn more since they spent less money on fuel.

It indirectly reduced the tendency to overcharge customers, as some taxi drivers did, said Jasbeer.

A full tank of gas costs him about RM9 and enables him to drive around for about 150km.

"If I put RM10 of petrol in my taxi today, I could probably drive 25km to 30km," he said.

A full tank of petrol for his taxi, a Proton Iswara, would cost RM80, said Jasbeer.

But at the moment, Jasbeer feels the limited number of NGV pumps around the country makes life difficult for NGV cab drivers.

This is also true for private car owners. But for them, it is just an inconvenience. For the cab driver, it means a loss of income.

"Do you realise that every time we wait in line at the gas pump, we are losing money because we have no customers in our taxi?" Jasbeer said sometimes the wait could take up to 45 minutes.

"We have to fill up three times a day sometimes. That's about three hours we lose, when we should be ferrying passengers."

Jasbeer said the situation was often made worse by private cars joining the queue.

He wondered why owners of expensive cars like Mercedes Benz could not afford to use petrol. He said petrol stations should have dedicated gas pumps for taxis.

"In Ipoh, there are no gas pumps. The taxi drivers there suffer."

This article was first published in The New Straits Times on 24 June 2008.