City calls for govt's help to regulate taxis

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Unable to resolve an intercity taxi business dispute, the city administration is turning to central government to help find a win-win solution to the problem.

"We are considering asking for help from the Ministry of Transportation as we (Jakarta and administrations in Greater Jakarta) have failed to reach a consensus," City Transportation Agency head Rustam Effendy Sidabutar told The Jakarta Post Saturday.

The city earlier decided to stop issuing new taxi licenses because of the high number of taxis in the capital and the poor service that many cab companies provide.

However, the neighboring administrations of Bekasi, Bogor, Depok and Tangerang are continuing to issue business licenses for taxi companies, whose fleets mostly operate in and around the capital.

The massive influx of cabs from the neighboring towns has sparked stiff competition among companies in the capital during the past three years.

Data from the Association of Owners of Land Transportation Vehicles (Organda) shows there are at least 42 companies running a total of 26,000 taxis in Jakarta alone, while in Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, there were about 15 companies owning 17,000 cabs, many of which operated in the capital.

The city had hoped that neighboring administrations would not issue new licenses to avoid the oversupply of taxies in the capital, a situation that would make it difficult to force companies to improve their services.

However, Rustam said many taxi companies had sought and were granted business operating permits from other administrations.

"Neighboring administrations such as Depok and Tangerang have argued that they have the authority to issue new taxi permits under the autonomy law," he said.

He said that Jakarta could not ban taxis from neighboring cities from operating in the capital because enforcement would be too difficult.

"It is impossible for us to implement such a policy since transportation businesses like taxis don't operate in set borders," he said. The role of the central government to help coordinate and regulate the business was therefore vital, he said.

Organda taxi division head Ateng Aryono blamed poor coordination among the administrations in Greater Jakarta for the overcrowded taxi market.

"Tougher competition in the business has meant some companies are now involved in unfair practices, including imitating other companies' brands," said Ateng, who also represents the Blue Bird Group, the biggest taxi company in the capital.

He said some companies also found it difficult to maintain their level of services and did not regularly replace old cars with newer ones.

Crime in vehicles was also a problem, he said.

Earlier this month, a passenger, Ellaide Rumiaty Tampubolon, 37, was robbed and assaulted by at least five assailants who held up the cab. The robbers took Rp 5,074,000 in cash, US$100, a watch, necklace, and cellular phone.

No one has been apprehended for the crime.

The City Transportation Agency said that the demand for taxis in the capital was currently growing at around 6 percent per annum. It estimated that around 700,000 people took a taxi in the city every day, creating a need for around 27,000 cabs in the city.