City to find way to stop taxi crimes
City to find way to stop taxi crimes
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While many Jakartans now think twice before hailing a taxi, taxi
companies, government agencies and the police have yet to find an
effective way to stop the growing number of robberies committed
inside cabs.
"For the time being there is nothing else we can do except
encouraging would-be passengers to be careful in selecting
taxis," Association of Land Transportation Owners in Jakarta
(Organda Jakarta) chairman Herry Rotty said.
"The most secure way is to order a taxi from an operator
because, as shown by the recent incidents, there is no guarantee
of security if you hail taxis on the street," Herry told The
Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Herry noted a recent robbery involved a driver from a taxi
company, known for its good security and service record.
A series of recent meetings between the Jakarta Police, the
City Transportation Agency and Organda Jakarta discussed the
issue, however, Herry said the meeting had not come to any
solutions.
City police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said it was difficult
to find a way to systematically stop taxi crimes, especially as
many taxis were not equipped with good communication systems.
"Criminals in taxis can easily move to other places. But with
a good communications system, we can track the movement of
taxis," Firman said on Friday.
Police had set up a team to investigate cab robberies and had
identified five robberies within the past month, while data
showed there had been at least 26 cases since March.
Firman called taxi operators to be more selective in
recruiting drivers, who were involved in most of the crimes.
He applauded the move of a taxi operator willing to connect
its global positioning system (GPS) to the police's.
"Several other taxi operators have also expressed their
readiness to connect their communication systems with those owned
by the police. It will help the police to detect further
incidents," Firman said.
Herry said the city could make the use of GPS units a main
requirement to obtaining operation permits so operators and the
police could closely monitor the movements of all vehicles.
He said Organda Jakarta would agree to help to obtain GPS
equipment at lower prices for smaller taxi companies.
Currently, there are at least 42 taxi companies operating in
the city.
Herry said the transportation agency also needed to revise
regulations on taxis operating in the city, including requiring
them to have good communication systems.
"The city must revoke permits of taxis which have not
fulfilled the requirements," he said.