'Kijang taxis? Whose great idea is that?'

'Kijang taxis? Whose great idea is that?'

The city administration's plan to launch a new public
transportation service using Toyota Kijang vans amid the existing
city-wide fleet of 25,000 sedan taxis, has received mixed
reactions. The Jakarta Post ventured out for some comments from
the streets.

Ujang, 28, is a street vendor selling bottled drink on Jl.
Daan Mogot, West Jakarta. He lives with his brother in Kalideres,
West Jakarta:

I don't know if people downtown need such taxis. But out here,
we need more public buses and ojek (motorcycle taxis). They need
buses to take them from Kalideres bus terminal to other parts of
the capital and ojek to come to the terminal and go home.

The city administration should have provided the kind of
public transportation the public needs instead of Kijang taxis.

If the administration launches Kijang taxis, I wonder if
they'll eventually become angkot (public minivans).

Ahmad, 30, is a finance manager at a private company on Jl.
Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta. He lives with his wife in Cipinang,
East Jakarta:

Kijang taxis? Whose great idea is that? Let me guess -- the
city administration's?

Well, they can take care of the busway and its feeder buses
first, before trying out more great ideas.

I thought the city was concentrating on providing mass rapid
transportation systems, like the busway and the monorail. Taxis,
although they may be public transportation, are not "mass
transportation".

Who can ensure that Kijang taxis will be used by groups of
passengers rather than a single individual? If this happens, then
the taxis will only create more congestion.

-- The Jakarta Post