Taxi fleet banned from Manila airport over extra charges

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has banned the entire fleet of Davis Taxis, commonly known as white taxis, from Ninoy Aquino International Airport after a report that one of the company’s drivers tried to overcharge his passengers.

MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal said the taxi fleet had not been allowed at NAIA Terminal 1 since Monday after two Austrian travel vloggers documented their ordeal with a taxi driver.

The driver asked for extra money because his passengers had “heavy luggage” and he asked for a flat rate instead of the fare on the meter, Business Mirror reported.

The taxi driver, identified as Jhumil Bule, also stopped in the middle of the road and asked his passengers to get out of the cab. When Bule realized the pair were filming him, he became aggressive and tried to grab their mobile phone.

Monreal said the ban was for a trial period of two weeks and he may consider imposing a permanent ban on the firm. “We want to balance out things so the riding public would not have a problem. Eventually, we would apply this (ban) at all terminals of NAIA,” Monreal said.

In a separate incident, a taxi driver was arrested for allegedly robbing a Filipino migrant worker who had just arrived home from Hong Kong. The Filipina, a domestic worker in Hong Kong, said the taxi driver drove a short distance from the airport before she was robbed.

Read: Taxi driver arrested from stealing from Filipino migrant worker