Run-down taxis and rogue drivers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Arriving home from a trip overseas I stepped out
\nof the Soekarno Hatta International Airport to find myself
\nwithout a means of transportation back to town.<\/p>\n
Hot, sticky, and jet lagged from the trip, I had expected to
\njump into a decent air-conditioned taxi and ride home, free from
\nhassles.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately that was not to be the case. After surveying the
\ntaxi queue I was dismayed to find that the multi-colored taxis
\nlining up at the airport's entrance all had a sinister look about
\nthem.<\/p>\n
Battered, weather-beaten taxis, driven by sloven drivers,
\ntheir shirts unbuttoned, looking as weather-beaten as their
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
Still I looked around, waiting for something better. Nothing,
\nnothing, nothing. Several prospective taxis just whizzed away
\nwithout stopping.<\/p>\n
A glimpse of hope came with the slowing down of what seemed to
\nbe a relatively new cab. I started to hail the cab, but a whistle
\nfrom a security guard quickly dissipated that hope.<\/p>\n
\"Miss, that's not allowed!\" he said as he quickly motioned the
\ncab away. I looked on in annoyance, wondering why it was
\nforbidden to ride in a decent looking taxi.<\/p>\n
Finally I braved the taxi queue with its scruffy-looking
\ndrivers. One of them approached and asked where I was going. I
\ntold him my destination and he said, \"it would have to be
\nborongan (a price settled upon after bargaining) miss, no meter.
\nIt'll cost Rp 70,000 (about $6.45) including the toll fee.\"<\/p>\n
I frowned; not only was the fee too steep for my destination,
\nas far as I knew, taxis without meters were illegal. I refused,
\nfrowning. By that time I was not only annoyed, but also close to
\ntears. I had been standing around for close to 15 minutes!<\/p>\n
As the night drew on without any hope of finding a decent
\nride, I again braved the taxi queue, noting beforehand that the
\ncab driver who had tried to offer me a ride with a borongan price
\nhad driven off with an unlucky victim.<\/p>\n
The next cab in line was pretty clean from the outside, and
\nthe driver did not try to shoot me with outrageous prices.<\/p>\n
I stepped in, told him my destination, and he presented me
\nwith a surcharge ticket for Rp 10,500 to be paid on arrival. I
\nwas speechless.<\/p>\n
I sat back, trying to calm my mind, convincing myself that it
\nwas just one of those days.<\/p>\n
Suddenly a baby cockroach scurried past me, just missing my
\nhand on the car seat. I half shrieked. The driver never took any
\nnotice.<\/p>\n
I ran my eyes all through the interior of the car, watching in
\ndismay as another baby cockroach approached my feet. I stamped on
\nthe little bugger but it was too fast. Baby or not, a cockroach
\nis not my idea of a fun travel companion. Aarrrggggghhhhhhh!!!<\/p>\n
Since there are many decent taxis driving around in the
\ncapital I wondered why none were ever available at the airport;
\nthe very gateway to Indonesia, where foreign tourists make their
\nfirst impression of the country.<\/p>\n
Do we really want to give an image of battered taxis, on top
\nof the already damaging image of riots and bickering among us?<\/p>\n
On another such trip, I left Soekarno-Hatta by literally
\noutrunning a security guard to a cab that quickly drove off
\nbefore I had the door properly shut.<\/p>\n
The chagrined guard gave the cab a vicious bang on the door
\nwith his nightstick as a parting shot.<\/p>\n
I felt like a crook hightailing it from the scene of a crime.<\/p>\n
As I found out, taxis without an authorized airport sticker
\nweren't allowed to pick up customers there. Unfortunately, those
\nthat do are dubious and aren't very presentable.<\/p>\n
\"If we get authorization, the other cabs won't have a chance
\n(to compete against us), miss,\" the driver told me, explaining
\nwhy there were no decent cabs at the airport and why he had to
\nplay cat and mouse with the security guard.<\/p>\n
So there was this discrimination that forbids popular cab
\ncompanies from having airport authorization and stealing a piece
\nof the pie from the other taxi companies.<\/p>\n
Yet, there are very good and rational explanations why some
\ncompanies are popular and others are not.<\/p>\n
The quality of its taxi fleet and the courteousness of its
\ndrivers, are only two such factors.<\/p>\n
After all, with the crime rate at an alarmingly high level in
\nthe capital, who wants to risk getting into a dubious cab?<\/p>\n
So where is this hospitality that we are so famed for? If
\ntourists and foreign businessmen are greeted with run-down taxis
\nand rogue drivers upon entering the country, I don't think there
\nis any left.<\/p>\n
Besides, isn't restricting some companies while giving
\nprivileges to others considered an unfair business practice?
\nAfter all it is business, and everything in business is about
\ncompetition.<\/p>\n
In the end, it is the market that decides. And in the
\nmeantime, why not let overseas travelers see that here in
\nIndonesia not all is bad and run-down.<\/p>\n
-- Tantri Yuliandini<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/run-down-taxis-and-rogue-drivers-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }