Taxi Touting At KLIA Still On The Rise Despite Crackdowns

Despite ongoing enforcement efforts, the issue of taxi touting at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA and KLIA2) has worsened in recent years.

These touts, often operating in groups, unlawfully solicit passengers, particularly foreign tourists, by offering unlicensed and overpriced transportation.

They commonly operate outside the arrivals hall, near baggage claim exits, or within parking areas.

JPJ’s recent “Ops Ulat” crackdown at KLIA reveals that illegal taxi touting is still on the rise.


One cab driver caught soliciting passengers at the airport pleaded with JPJ officers , citing financial struggles and stiff competition from e-hailing services.

The 55-year-old man from Seri Kembangan said it’s been tough making ends meet. According to him, some days he earns less than RM100, and often only manages two or three trips a day.

Depending on passenger agreements, he typically brings in between RM150 and RM300 daily, but a big chunk of that goes toward his RM60 daily taxi rental.


"It's hard to make a living outside these days as most users no longer flag down taxis. I can't even earn RM100 a day, and that makes it difficult to cover my daily expenses," he told enforcement officials.

The driver added that he had previously been arrested four times and had borrowed almost RM12,000 to pay summonses and get his car back from RTD's custody.

"I returned to touting at KLIA because this is a lucrative spot where it's easy to get passengers.

"I'm pleading with RTD not to seize the vehicle because it's a rental taxi from a company. If they take it, I don't know how I'll survive," he said.

Between January and mid-June this year, JPJ addressed 69 cases involving private cars used for touting and seized 10 public transport vehicles.

According to JPJ’s Senior Director of Legal Enforcement to Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan, taxi drivers at KLIA Terminals 1 and 2 are required to use approved booking applications for passenger pickups; non-compliance will result in them being treated as touts.

Kifli also noted that enforcement is complicated by the fact that many offenders use rental vehicles.