Taxi firm tightens control after violent robbery<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Would-be passengers have to be careful when taking a taxi, even
\nif it belongs to a reputable company.<\/p>\n
City police have arrested a Blue Bird taxi driver, identified
\nas Supriyadi, 45, for plotting with friends to rob his
\npassengers.<\/p>\n
Blue Bird Group spokesman Riva Lazuardi admitted on Thursday
\nthat Supriyadi, who drove a Pusaka Lintas taxi with door number
\nEL 816, had used his cab to rob and assault South Korean Nam Ho
\nIn, 40, last Oct. 1. Taxis belonging to the Blue Bird Group are
\nknown for their security.<\/p>\n
Supriyadi and his accomplice snatched Nam's cell phone and Rp
\n9.5 million in cash. Supriyadi and his two accomplices were
\narrested last Wednesday and are now in police custody.<\/p>\n
"We have done our utmost to ensure the security and safety of
\nour passengers with our tough recruitment system for drivers.
\nHowever, we admit that the system cannot guarantee security and
\nsafety 100 percent. This case is the first in our 33 years of
\noperation," Riva told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said that his company, which operates 9,000 of the more
\nthan 26,000 taxis in the capital, has taken measures to respond
\nto the incident.<\/p>\n
"We have tightened requirements for new drivers, while we are
\nalso carrying out new screening processes for all of our 15,000
\ndrivers," he said.<\/p>\n
In addition, the company would intensify its monitoring system
\nusing an incentive scheme where drivers will receive rewards for
\ninforming on any wrongdoings by their colleagues.<\/p>\n
"We will again empower our internal plainclothes patrol force
\nwho pretend to be passengers to catch out bad drivers," he added.<\/p>\n
He advised passengers to as much as possible use the taxi call
\nservice rather than just stopping a taxi on the street.<\/p>\n
"We are awaiting the results of the legal proceedings over the
\nrobbery case. If the court rules that the perpetrator did in fact
\nuse our taxi, then we are ready to compensate for any losses
\nsuffered by the victim," he said.<\/p>\n
J. Hamonangan Sitorus, taxi division secretary of the Jakarta
\nbranch of the Organization of the Land Transportation Owners
\n(Organda DKI), said many companies failed to impose tough
\nrequirements on drivers since demand for drivers has been
\nrelatively high recently amid stiffer competition in the business
\nthanks to the influx of new players.<\/p>\n
"It has been a common practice in some poorly-monitored taxi
\ncompanies where a driver will rent his taxi to another driver,
\nwho then also rent it to another person. It's no wonder such
\nrobberies happen," he said.<\/p>\n
"Two years ago, we tried to use a computerized system that
\nrequired all taxi operators to register their drivers with
\nOrganda in order to reduce the high mobility of drivers moving
\nfrom one company to another. Unfortunately, such a system is no
\nlonger effective as many operators are reluctant to use it," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are at least 42 taxi companies operating in
\nthe city alone.<\/p>\n
He said that little had been done by the administration to
\nregulate taxi operators.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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