Founding of new taxi, bus firms opposed

JAKARTA (JP): The land transport firms association, Organda, demanded yesterday that the administration stop issuing new permits for taxi and bus companies.

Instead, Organda officials suggested that the existing transport companies be allowed to increase their number of vehicles to improve public transportation services.

Organda chief Aip Syaifuddin said yesterday that increasing the number of transportation companies, especially bus and taxi, would not solve the chronic transportation problems.

"The best way to improve the service would be to expand the existing companies' fleets," Aip said in the organization's workshop.

He explained that the number of taxi companies has increased from 18 in 1993 to 26 this year, and yet the public demand for public transport vehicles has not been fulfilled.

In 1993, the city administration decided to grant permits to several new taxi companies in an effort to increase the number of taxis from 12,000 to 15,000.

"But the target has not been achieved. Currently, there are only 13,500 taxis," Aip said, adding that this proves that expanding the existing companies' fleets would be a better solution.

Aip pointed out that the number of buses and taxis is inadequate to accommodate all passengers in the city, and that the administration has projected that there should be 17,000 taxis in the city this year and about 20,000 in the year 2000.

The number of taxis owned by each company varies from 100 to 6,000, with the city administration ruling that a new company can operate no more than 100 taxis at the start.

Aip also said that the lack of taxis has made those from outside operate in the city, which is against the regulation.

"About 95 percent of an estimated 4,000 taxis from other cities, such as Bogor and Bekasi swarm the city everyday and there is nothing we can do to stop them because the people here need them," Aip said.

Organda, he said, can accept it if these taxis carry passengers from their towns to Jakarta because the regulation allows them to do so, but most of them do not return to their city of origin after they drop their passengers but remain in the city to operate.

"We understand that it is difficult to control the practice but we demand that the city administration do something to stop it," Aip said.

The annual Organda meeting evaluated the organization's performance and drew up programs and suggestions on how to solve transport problems to be proposed to the city administration.

It also discussed the administration's plan to build new facilities such as the Manggarai integrated terminal in South Jakarta.(yns)