'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