'New taxis only make the traffic worse'

'New taxis only make the traffic worse'

The Jakarta administration is planning to launch a new taxi
service using Kijang minivans, which can carry more passengers
and baggage, despite the 25,000 taxis currently already
traversing the city. The Jakarta Post talked to some residents
about the issue.

Yunita, 26, owns a retail store in Roxy, Central Jakarta. She
lives with her parents in Karawaci, Tangerang:

Kijang taxis? What for? Are they for private charter? I am
totally against the idea. It's very unnecessary. Jakarta has too
many angkot already. Why should there be more? It's just gonna
cause the traffic to be more congested.

Besides, there's busway. Why do you need Kijang taxis when you
have busway? Jakarta traffic is already hectic enough without
them. Please, no more useless projects. We don't need that.

Wahyu, 32, is an English teacher at a high school in South
Jakarta. He lives in Kalibata, South Jakarta:

Jakarta has too many taxis already, and we can see that most
of them have no passengers. Well, not all can afford it. The
competition is stiff, only established companies can survive. The
drivers of other companies, meanwhile, are surviving by extorting
their passengers. We often hear about robbery occurring in taxis,
right?

The city administration should realize that we don't need
another kind of taxi, even if it is bigger, provides us with
better security, or is cheaper. The administration should
regulate the number of taxis, so that only those with roadworthy
cars, meters, and disciplined and reliable drivers can operate.

--The Jakarta Post