Cabbies applaud sting operation

Taxi drivers welcome the government’s suggestion of authorising sting operations to bring errant cabbies to book. According to Portuguese-language newspaper Ponto Final, taxi drivers recognise that some of their actions infringe regulations and give them a bad reputation. The taxi drivers quoted by the newspaper say police should ‘do something to control cabbies, especially those who are the black sheep and charge too high amounts.’ Last week, the government suggested an amendment to the current taxi regulations, which includes the setting up of sting operations to catch drivers breaking the rules. The government said it would fully review the current taxi regulations, primarily to introduce sting operations, and increase fines for drivers refusing to accept passengers to MOP5,000 from the current amount of MOP1,000. A public consultation was scheduled to begin this week.