Taxi drivers unwelcome fare hike

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso's endorsement of the taxi fare hike is not good news for taxi drivers, who are losing passengers in droves as the country sinks deeper into the economic mire.

They said yesterday that as soon as the tariffs rise next week, taxi owners would raise the rental fees, which even at present levels they can hardly afford.

Sutiyoso approved the taxi fare hike proposed by the Association of Public Transportation Owners (Organda) on Thursday. The policy is expected to come into effect on Monday.

The flag fall will be raised to Rp 2,500 (28 U.S. cents) from Rp 1,500. The subsequent per-kilometer cost will be Rp 1,000, up from Rp 550 and the waiting cost will soar to Rp 10,000 from Rp 6,000.

Organda officials have said that the fare hike is necessary after the government raised the premium gasoline price from Rp 700 to Rp 1,200 per liter. The cost of auto parts has also risen fourfold over the past few months.

"The new tariffs are not good news at all," Herman, a Citra taxi driver told Antara. "It will worsen our problems because people will have to think twice before they decide to hail a taxi."

Others said they believe taxis would become the last option for most people to get to their destination because of the high tariffs.

"The number of passengers has markedly declined since the economic crisis began to bite (last July). You can imagine what could happen after the fares increase," said Tukiman, 43, a Blue Bird driver.

Tukiman, who has worked for more than seven years with Blue Bird, said that when the flag fall was raised to Rp 1,500 from Rp 900 last year, the number of passengers dropped by about 25 percent and did not rise again for six months.

He estimated that the new tariffs would effectively increase fares by 80 percent. (pan)