EDITORIAL - Mall taxi policies

Maybe it is time the different malls revisit their policy of not allowing empty taxis access to their premises to pick up passengers. The policy, it appears, only allows taxis with passengers going to the malls entry into the premises, and from where they can pick up fare from among waiting shoppers.

This policy is very hard on shoppers, the very patrons who give the malls their business. This is particularly true during sales, especially those that run deep into the night. The restriction on entry of empty taxis consequently reduces severely the number of taxis available for the shoppers to take.

It is not clear if mall owners have seen their own shoppers waiting for taxi rides. But if they take time out to go and check, they will find their own shoppers agonizing in the humid heat or rain, as the case may be, in very long and slow lines, there to wait for almost nothing.

It is really a terribly pitiful sight, one that ought to merit prompt attention by the malls, considering that the people who suffer, not just from the long wait but also from the weight of merchandise they bought, are their very own clientele.

Mall operators have to realize that taxis, especially at night, are increasingly getting hard to come by for the simple reason that fewer people go to the malls late to shop. This means that it being the time to go home instead of to shop, there will be fewer taxis with passengers entering mall premises.

This problem has become very evident the last few weeks as the holiday shopping season kicked in. At virtually every mall, it was indeed a sight to see hundreds of people all lining up to wait for the taxi that never came.

Look, if a mall closes at, say 10 p.m., there will hardly be any people in taxis going to that mall 30 minutes before closing time. On the other hand, even past closing time there will still be people slowly making their way out to wait for a taxi that will no longer be coming.

Perhaps there is a reason why the malls are imposing restrictions on empty taxis. But malls are hugely successful owing to the intelligence and acumen of their operators. Surely they can find a way to solve their taxi issues without inconveniencing the very shoppers who give them their business.