Proposal to limit number of taxis 'unfair': Councilor

Proposal to limit number of taxis 'unfair': Councilor

JAKARTA (JP): A city councilor has dismissed as unfair a
proposal that the number of taxis operating in the city be
limited, arguing that even the current number is not enough to
meet public demand.

Instead, he urged the city administration to restrict the
number of private cars in the city.

Romulus Sihombing, a councilor from the Indonesian Democratic
party faction, said that the demand for taxis, as public
transportation vehicles, is still high and it is not proper for
the city administration restricts its numbers.

"Taxis are a means of public transportation still needed by
the majority of Jakartans and the proposal is not relevant to the
real situation," Romulus told reporters yesterday.

He said that any decision concerning public transportation
should be based on the demand factor, and in this case Jakarta
still needs more taxis.

Romulus said it will be more appropriate if the city
administration limits the number of private cars because there
are many more private cars in the city than public transportation
vehicles.

Private cars, he said, should bear the brunt of chronic
traffic jams in the city.

"The city administration is trying to solve the traffic
problems by restricting the number of private cars on the main
streets through the three-in-one policy, which prohibits all
vehicles carrying less than three people, from using certain main
streets during morning peak hours," he said.

Director General of Land Transportation Soejono has urged the
city administration to control the number of taxis in the city,
saying that currently the number of taxis in the capital almost
reaches the tolerable limit and this will cause unfair
competition among taxi companies.

Soejono said that about 15,619 taxis operate in the city.

Chairman of the Land Transportation Firms Association, Aip
Syaifuddin, said recently that the number of taxis in the city is
still not enough because there are only about 13,500 taxis, owned
by 26 Jakarta-based taxi companies, operating in the city.

Aip added that since about 3,800 taxis from the greater
Jakarta area are also operating in the city, the number of taxis
plying Jakarta roads reaches 16,500 at present.

The association has urged the city administration to take firm
action against taxi companies based in Tangerang, Bogor, Bekasi
and Depok, that operate their fleets in the city.

In a related development, Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said that
the city administration has set a policy regarding public
transportation, especially taxis, in the city.

"Basically, the city administration will gradually add to the
number of taxis in the city, based on demand, and we have our own
projections on the demand," Surjadi told reporters at City Hall
yesterday.

The administration has projected that there should be 17,000
taxis in the city this year and about 20,000 in the year 2000.

However, it is hard to reach this target and city
administration tried to solve the problem by adding to the number
of taxi companies in the city, a decision opposed by the
association.

The association has urged the city administration to stop
issuing new permits for taxi companies. Instead it suggested that
the existing transport companies be allowed to increase the
number of their vehicles.

In November, PT Citra Transport Nusantara will start operating
some of its 7,000 taxis in the city using Proton Saga cars, which
are produced by Malaysia.(yns/32)