City calls for govt's help to regulate taxis

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.