Sun, 16 Feb 1997

Better taxi services sought

In a metropolis like Jakarta, taxis are as important as other public transportation means. The number of cabbies has increased in line with growing development. The taxi business is flourishing, but demands for better services grow. The Jakarta Post's reporters Stevie Emilia, Sugianto Tandra, Ridwan M. Sijabat, Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Arief Suhardiman, T. Sima Gunawan and Benget Simbolon Tnb. observe the phenomenon in a series of articles on this page, page 9 and page 13.

JAKARTA (JP): Sandra was upset. The young professional had been standing on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, for over an hour, waiting for a taxi home. It was 6 p.m. and the traffic was heavy. Many cabs had passed, but none were empty.

Another hour passed before a taxi finally stopped. She took a deep breath and, with relief, threw herself into the back.

Sandra's experience is not uncommon. It is very hard to get a taxi during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

But does that mean Jakarta is short of taxis?

"Not really," H.M. Djuhdi, head of the transportation division of the City Land Transportation Control Agency, said.

Since 1972, the city administration has issued licenses for 28 companies to operate 20,298 taxis. For the time being enough operation licenses have been issued, he said. "But we might need more taxis in the years to come."

PT President Taxi is licensed to operate 6,759 taxis, PT Blue Bird to operate 1,550 taxis and Kosti Jaya, 1,250 taxis. Last year PT Citra Transpor Nusantara was issued a permit to operate 1,000 taxis.

The fact remains that it is hard to find a taxi in rush hours, but at other times long queues of taxis wait for passengers outside shopping malls, bus terminals, airports and hotels.

In these "low hours", it is usually easy to hail a taxi on the city's main streets and people can be picky about the taxi company.

Usually, the first thing people look for is the cab's color, whether it is yellow, red and yellow, blue, green, pink or white, and whether it is old or new. They also check which company the taxi comes from before getting in.

People have reasons to be picky as there have been numerous complaints of unscrupulous drivers.

Drivers differ. Some are nice and polite, but others are rude, drive recklessly or take the longer routes for the extra fare.

It is also no secret that there are delinquent drivers who tamper with their meters, or refuse to use them. If passengers insist on using the meter, these drivers have been known to "dump" them by the road side.

Some of the worst places for this type of behavior are bus terminals or railway stations where taxi drivers prey on the gullible, usually people from out of town. Calo (middlemen) play a big role in pushing would-be victims into a taxi.

The standard taxi flagfall is Rp 1,500 and with an additional Rp 550 for every kilometer.

Punishment

Oriyanto Sapardal, head of the traffic and transportation control subdivision of the City Land Transportation Control Agency, said the government was determined to curb violations by taxi drivers.

"We can impound cars or even freeze operation licenses. If the drivers violate the rules three times, that's too much, we'd revoke their license," he said.

Between Sept. 3 and Nov. 23 last year, the agency launched an operation against unscrupulous taxis. As a result, it impounded 104 taxis from 22 companies for various violations, mostly not using or tampering with their meters. Forty-seven of them were the yellow-and-red PT President Taxi cabs.

PT President Taxi's director of operations, Bambang Poernomo, says the company is working hard to improve its image.

"We tell the drivers to regularly check their vehicles, including their meters, and to treat passengers as they would their own family. We ask them to imagine how painful it would feel if their "family" was cheated with a dodgy meter or if they were dumped at the road side," he said.

Despite their poor image, Bambang said he was not worried about competition from other taxi companies.

"It is not a problem. We always tell our drivers to look at the other taxis as partners in serving the public," he said.

Good service is indeed an important aspect in the operation of a taxi as is the condition of the car itself.

Mubha Kahar Muang, director of PT Citra Transpor Nusantara which operates Citra taxis, stresses the importance of comfort and safety in her taxi cabs. To her these two features are the most important assets in attracting passengers.

Mubha, a member of the House of Representatives' budgetary commission, said when people hail a cab they want to be sure of a comfortable ride.

"Most of all they want to know they will be safe in that taxi," she remarked, adding that safety and comfort included the passengers' confidence that they would not be cheated by the meter.

A taxi driver usually works for 12 to 18 hours a day. Some work every other day and some have a day off every two working days. Most companies charge drivers a daily rent of between Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000.

Two taxi companies, Citra and Kosti Jaya, use the owner- operator system. Under this system, the driver receives a loan from the companies to buy the taxi. He or she pays Rp 62,500 a day, which includes the maintenance costs. The debt is payable within five years or less.

"If they maintain the vehicles well, they will be able to pay the debt in three and a half years," Mubha said.

Mubha is a former director of Kosti Jaya, which first implemented the system four years ago. She is now also a consultant for the company.

PT Blue Bird has another system. Purnomo Prawiro, the operations manager, says the company applies a "commission scheme" which ranges from 10 percent to 40 percent.

A driver who earns Rp 50,000 or less gets a 10 percent commission, but those who get Rp 110,000 or more, will receive a 40 percent commission.

PT President Taxi is unique because the cabs are owned by 3,000 people. Every month, the owner has to hand over a Rp 45,000 "management fee" to the company, according to Bambang.

The taxi owners charge the driver between Rp 40,000 and Rp 60,000 a day to rent the cabs, he said.

No matter what system is applied, it seems that operating taxis is a promising business, especially since the government does not impose import duty on cabs -- which could double the cost of the car.

But owners should remember that drivers deserve a fair share of the profits while passengers deserve good service -- two important aspects not all taxi companies realize. (team)