Jakarta, W. Java agree to settle rift over taxis
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta and the West Java administrations have agreed to work together to settle the recent controversy over the operation of taxis in Greater Jakarta.
Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja and West Java Governor Nuryana have agreed that their administrations should join hands in handling the matter.
"I have asked the city land transportation agency to review its taxi agreement with the West Java land transportation agency," Surjadi said yesterday.
In return, the West Java administration will discuss the operation of taxis in Greater Jakarta, Nuryana said.
According to the agreement, signed last year by representatives of his agency and officials from the West Java provincial government, taxis from Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi are allowed to bring passengers into the city but are prohibited from picking up passengers while here.
The agency has been intensifying its efforts to catch out-of- town taxis following complaints from owners of Jakarta cab companies about the out-of-town taxis operating in the city.
These efforts had the effect of frightening taxi drivers, some of whom misunderstood the policy and started refusing to take passengers to outlying areas like Ciputat and Tangerang.
Surjadi said he had also asked the agency to review a city policy limiting the number of taxis operating in the city.
The city administration earlier turned down a request by the association of land transport firm owners, Organda, to increase the number of taxis operating in the city. City Hall says Jakarta now has 18,207 taxis owned by 27 Jakarta companies.
Organda, on the other hand, says there are only 13,500 city taxis in Jakarta. This, Organda says, is the main reason why most of the taxis from Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi, which number about 4,000, operate in Jakarta every day.
Organda
Meanwhile, Organda treasurer, Abdulah Husein, said that the organization would make several proposals, including the cancellation of the current agreement, to help settle the taxi rift.
"The agreement could be eliminated but there would be a quota on Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi taxis operating here in the city and Jakarta taxis operating in West Java cities. The quota would be based on the cities' population as well as the market segment," he said.
He added that such a policy would also avoid unhealthy competition among taxi companies.
Another possibility, Abdulah said, would be to give special signs to out-of-town taxis allowing them to operate in the city, with the same regime being applied to city taxis wishing to operate in West Jakarta.(yns)