Airport taxis

Airport taxis

Upon my arrival at the Jakarta airport at midnight from Bali,
I witnessed one of the most blatant and disgusting examples of
corruption and intimidation.

I was harassed constantly from the exit door by a large number
of taxi drivers, but I forced my way to an Express taxi through
all the "cowboy" cabs. The official on duty said I was not
allowed to take Express and had to take one of the other cabs.
I've been here long enough to know how to handle these jerks, but
I still had to repeat five times harshly that I only take Express
or Bluebird.

At that point some thug approached and demanded 30,000 rupiah
for the privilege of using my choice of taxi. I told him quite
succinctly what to do with his demand and he then promptly
threatened the Express driver who quickly gave him some cash as
he swiftly sped away, but still had his vehicle attacked and
pounded.

Many times I have read that the airport administration has
resolved these criminal and corrupt practices, but this is the
worst case I have run across.

This is a wonderful introduction to this city by unsuspecting
tourists, and obviously even the locals are thoroughly
intimidated by this operation.

I call on, both, the Jakarta airport administration and the
Ministry of Tourism to reply in this paper to my complaint on
this iniquitous form of coercion.

BRIEN DOYLE, Jakarta