New fares scares taxi passengers and drivers

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"No way I am using a taxi! Not unless it's an emergency, it's just way too expensive now," Tika, an employee in Palmerah, South Jakarta, said on hearing that taxi companies had increased their fares on Monday.

Several taxi companies in Jakarta -- including Blue Bird, Primajasa, Ekspress, Dian, and Tiffani -- began operating with the new increased fare in accordance with the gubernatorial decree issued on Oct. 10.

The decree increased taxi fares by an average of 34 percent, with Rp 5,000 (about 50 U.S. cents) flag fall and Rp 2,500 for each kilometer, compared to the previous flag fall of Rp 4,000 and Rp 1,800 per kilometer. In addition, the hourly waiting fee went up to Rp 25,000 from the previous Rp 18,000.

The Jakarta branch of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda DKI) followed up the decree several days later, but many taxi companies refrained from immediately increasing their fares until taxi meters had been adjusted.

"We were quick to respond to the gubernatorial decree because we wanted the operators to prepare themselves," Organda DKI chairman Herry JC Rotty was quoted by KCM as saying.

He said that taxi companies were free to set their own fares, but they were not permitted to be more than that stipulated by the government.

"The stipulated fare is the maximum fare, meaning companies are free to either stick to the old fare or use the new one," Herry said.

Many regular taxi passengers, such as Tika, are understandably dismayed by the increase.

Santi, an employee of a telecommunications company in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta, said that she would be forced to cut down her "nights on the town" because of the taxi fare increase.

"Taxis are the single woman's comfort; I feel safer going home at night by taxi than by bus," she said.

Blue Bird spokesman Teguh Wijayanto told The Jakarta Post that it was normal for the number of taxi passengers to drop following a fare increase.

"It's a transition period, usually about one or two months under normal circumstances, after which taxi passengers become accustomed to the new fare," he said, explaining that there was usually a 5 percent to 15 percent drop in passengers.

This time, however, Teguh said that the company was preparing for a drop in passengers of between 20 percent and 30 percent.

"This is the second increase this year, perhaps in total it's the largest taxi fare increase in the country's history, so maybe there will even be a drop of 20 to 30 percent in passengers, maybe more," he explained.

Together with the first taxi fare increase in March, this year taxi fares have increased 70 percent.

During such quiet periods, Teguh said, his company usually gives out cash incentives to its drivers, but that such measures were still too early to implement.

"We'll wait five to 15 days until we know for sure how bad the drop off in passengers is, then we can decide on the cash incentives," he said.

In a competitive spirit, many other taxi companies, such as Gamya, Sepakat, Putra, and Kosti Jaya, have retained the old fares.

"I don't think there'd be any money for us to take home if the company raised its fares. Even now, passengers are scarce," said Rahmat, a Kosti taxi driver.

There are 42 taxi firms running a total of 26,000 cabs in Jakarta alone, while in Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi there are 15 more companies operating 17,000 cabs, many of which also operate in the capital.