Blue Bird taxi drivers protest rental fee hike

JAKARTA (JP): Fifty drivers from the Blue Bird taxi company were prevented from striking yesterday when security officers drove them out of the National Monument (Monas) park area in Central Jakarta.

The cabbies were protesting the company's recent daily rental fee hike from Rp 105,000 to Rp 137,000.

"We went to Monas park and military officers ordered us to leave," Rudi, a driver, told The Jakarta Post.

Another driver, Herman, said he and his fellow drivers were also dispersed yesterday by security officers at the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, where they had planned to go on strike at 9 a.m.

According to Herman, the company discovered their plan.

"The company then reported the case to the Central Jakarta military command which later sent security officers to the two places to prevent the strike. We were waiting for a television crew to cover our actions," he added.

He said the drivers previously earned an average of Rp 20,000 a day each. Since the rental fee was increased on April 8, five days after the government announced hikes in domestic land, sea and air transportation fares, they only take home between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 a day, he said.

The standard taxi flagfall was increased from Rp 900 to Rp 1,500, as was the rate for every next kilometer, which went up to Rp 550 per km from Rp 450 per km.(04)