KL Taxi Driver Numbers

I haven’t taken a Malaysian taxi for a long time. I think the last time I did, this dorky cab driver tried to con me of 30sen, for air-con. This was years ago. For 30sen, this guy risked losing his permit… real smart. And what was he thinking of, charging for ‘air-con’?

Anyway, have you ever wondered about those numbers stuck at the front of the cab? Usually it’s found above the glove compartment on the passenger side.


Its looks something like this:


TS 8xx
WC 67xxx
HWB 49xx


They’re usually black plastic letters on a white surface.


One day my brother asked the cab driver about it.


This is what he said: “Ini nombor hantu itu JPJ bagi punya lah!!!”
(Translation: “This is the ‘magic’ number given by the Road Transport Department!”)


Anyway, according to this really affable cabbie, here’s what they meant:

TS = ‘Tire Size’
WC = ‘Wilayah Cab’ meaning it operates mainly in the city area.
The last line is the car registration number. As found on the number plate.


By the way, the ‘H’ in all the taxi number plates stand for ‘Hire’.


One day if I take another cab again, I’ll ask the driver why its red and white in colour.




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