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)