MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: Sunday Mail (page 1)

The official stand was that it was to house a global positioning system (GPS), a sophisticated method of using satellites to keep track of the limousines so as to serve passengers better.

When it was launched about 18 months ago- around the time the Kuala Lumpur International Airport was opened - newspaper reports quoted officials as saying the GPS system cost "millions of ringgit".

Now, the truth is out. The whole system never went beyond the testing stage. The funny looking contraption never served its purpose. If at all, it only made it easier to identify the airport taxis.

The Sunday Mail found out about this when it investigated complaints from passengers that they had to make bookings hours in advance for airport limousines.

They wanted to know why this is so when the GPS system was supposed to track down the limousines wherever they were and to direct them to passengers who wanted the service.

In the latest case, in a letter to the New Straits Times on Thursday, Jessica Tan of Kajang said her brother was told to make a booking four hours in advance.

"As all the limousines are equipped with satellite receivers, it should be easy to reach any of them. But I was told that most of them switch off the receiver and pergi jalan-jalan sendiri."

Tan said she travelled overseas frequently and had yet to encounter a limousine or taxi service which required passengers to wait like this.

When asked for an explanation, Airport Limo (M) Sdn Bhd general manager Ghulam Manzoor Hussain admitted the system was stopped during the testing phase.

He said the contractor engaged to put up the limousine-tracking device backed out of the project. He refused to discuss the reason for this.

"Due to glitches, it was later aborted," he said. He declined to reveal the monetary losses.

Ghulam Manzoor said when the contractor pulled out, the company decided to introduce a new system which "complements the sophisticated services provided by the airport itself".

He said the huge satellite communications antennae that cover the roof of the limousine are being removed, to be replaced with a smaller piece of equipment which works just as well.

A total of 122 Mercedes Benz limousines will be fitted with GPS receivers which enable messages to be sent to and from the vehicles.

The rest of the fleet, comprising Proton Perdana and Wira, has been fitted with trunk radios and GPS receivers.

At present, the data-only system on Mercedes-Benz limos can receive messages or orders.

Other functions which will be incorporated in the system in future are speed monitoring; ticketing management and vehicle engine immobilisers.

Ghulam Manzoor said to complement the system which is called Integrated Mobile Data Terminals (IMDT), a trunk radio system is also being installed.

However, its usage will be controlled by management to minimise distractions to passengers.

"We do not want passengers to be bothered by the constant voice messages over the radio as in the city cabs. The trunk radios will only be used if necessary," he said.