City likely to approve 30% taxi fare hike, lower than proposed

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

An official said on Friday that the Jakarta administration was considering approving a 30 percent taxi fare increase, much lower than the 90 percent increase proposed by the Jakarta Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda).

Assistant to the City Secretary for Development Affairs IGKG Suena hinted that the administration might agree to the increase given the fact that taxi fares had not been increased for four years and were lower than fares in other big cities, like Surabaya and Denpasar.

"It would be unfair to ignore these facts and drop the proposal ... We think an increase of between 30 percent and 33 percent makes sense," Suena announced at City Hall.

"We will first consult with the City Transportation Council, which will be established by August at the latest," he added.

The current flag fall is Rp 3,000 (32 US cents), which would become Rp 3,900 after a 30 percent increase.

The flag fall in Jakarta increased from Rp 1,600 to Rp 2,000 between 1998 and 2000. The latest increase to Rp 3,000 was in 2000.

Suena reasoned that the increase was necessary to allow taxi companies to remain financially healthy and enable them to improve services.

"Many taxi companies are unable to replace old cabs amid stiff competition. That's not good for business, nor for customers since lowering the fare instead would worsen their services."

Forty taxi companies operate in the capital with a combined fleet of 24,000 taxis.

Besides an increase in the flag fall, Organda has also proposed an increase in the metered fare to Rp 1,800 per kilometer, a 50 percent increase from the current Rp 1,200.

Organda also requested the administration raise the waiting fee to a minimum Rp 18,000 per hour from Rp 12,000.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organization Consumer Protection opposed the hike plan, arguing that any increase would further burden cash-strapped customers.

"Whatever the reasons are, a taxi fare increase would be unfair considering the poor services provided by taxi operators in Jakarta," said Consumer Protection's CEO Irwan Sukatmawijaya in a statement.

Taxi drivers have also complained that a fare increase would discourage passengers from using their services and would therefore affect their daily income.

After the 2000 fare hike, many taxi drivers of operators, such as Kosti Jaya, Steady Safe, President Taxi, Sri Medali and Queen, insisted on charging the old fare, which left only Blue Bird Group taxis using the new fare.