Bad taxi service
The poor distribution of reliable taxis in Jakarta is one thing that never ceases to cause me stress. Take the Soekarno- Hatta airport, for example. Trying to find a decent taxi there is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, with most of the taxis refusing to use their meter and demanding astronomical prices.
One would think that in an international airport, the taxi service would be at least satisfactory. Don't we want to create a good first impression for foreigners? Alternatively, one can take the AC express bus, but it is unfortunately so poorly advertised and hidden away that many people don't even know that it exists. So on arrival, foreigners must endure the inevitable haggling and harassment by aggressive taxi drivers. Having just set foot in the country, a bad impression of it has already been formed in their heads.
Finding a reliable taxi is a strenuous task not only at the airport, but also at many other places around the city. Two examples include Pondok Indah Mall and Carrefour Lebak Bulus. Most of the taxis outside the entrance doors look as if they were salvaged from a rubbish dump, and the Air-Conditioning is usually long gone. Many shoppers who cannot afford to pay the ridiculous fares here are forced to lug their shopping out onto the main road in search of a reasonable cab.
Most of the taxi stands at these places are actually reserved for more reliable companies, such as Blue Bird. However, once again the problem boils down to corruption, with the "anti-meter" taxi drivers paying bribe money to some of the security officials on duty. This allows disreputable drivers to monopolize taxi stands, canceling out chances of customers finding a decent cab to travel home in.
At times, even when using "reputable" taxis, I have come across drivers with serious attitude problems towards their paying customers. When given directions, some drivers will refuse to listen, insisting that the road is macet (congested), or that they know a short cut. A few of them will even rip off naive western tourists by taking advantage of their lack of knowledge about Jakarta's roads. In order to bump up the meter, the driver will take the passenger on an unnecessary half hour city tour, when really the trip should have taken less than 15 minutes.
I understand that many people, including taxi drivers, are struggling to make ends meet in these days of economic hardship. Drivers especially must feel the pressure of these hard times, but must remember that they are hard for all of us. Everyone should strive to practice fairness and good business ethics. Paying customers deserve good service from drivers. If the drivers cannot give this, then they do not deserve the customer.
ELIZA ALLAN Jakarta