Taxi fares yet to be increased: Sutiyoso

Taxi fares yet to be increased: Sutiyoso

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso ordered the Organization of
Land Transportation Owners (Organda) on Friday to take action
against any taxi operators found charging new taxi fares, as an
official announcement for the fare hike has not been issued yet.

"The agency must take action against any taxis charging
passengers with the new fare because I haven't given my official
approval yet," Sutiyoso announced on the sidelines of his visit
to the Kedoya social rehabilitation center in West Jakarta.

"I agreed to a planned fare hike because my administration
understands their (taxi operators) difficulties. But they cannot
implement it yet," he said.

Through Gubernatorial Decree No. 2503 dated Aug. 22, 2000, the
administration agreed to hike the flag fall from Rp 2,000 (25
U.S. cents) to Rp 3,000, and the charge per kilometer from Rp 900
to Rp 1,300. The waiting fee will also increase from Rp 10,000 to
Rp 13,000 per hour.

Most passengers were surprised to learn on Friday that taxi
fares were hiked without any notice.

"It's crazy because there hasn't been any official
announcement," Siti Darojah, a resident living in the Permai area
of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post.

"I usually spend about Rp 14,000 to go from my house to City
Hall, but today I had to pay Rp 20,000," she said, referring to
her ride in a Blue Bird taxi.

A female employee at an office in the Kota area of West
Jakarta, said she preferred to wait for the bus, although it was
always crowded.

"I used to take a taxi if I was waiting a long time for a bus.
But I don't dare now because I will have to pay so much more for
a taxi," said Ailin, who lives in the Gunung Sahari area of
Central Jakarta.

A driver of the Citra taxi company said, however, that his
company had yet to implement the fare hike.

"There hasn't been any announcement from the office. We are
still charging passengers with the old fare. The fare hike was
only a trick by the Blue Bird group to get a larger share of the
passengers," P. Panjaitan told the Post.

"The rate hike will only benefit the companies' executives and
owners, not us drivers," he said.

A Blue Bird taxi driver, who spoke under the condition of
anonymity, said the management had increased the minimum daily
rental of a taxicab to Rp 310,000 from Rp 214,000, due to the
fare hike.

Drivers also said the number of passengers had also declined.

Citra Taxi seems to have been the only major company to
maintain the old fare.

A telephone operator at Kosti Jaya, Selly, said the company
had applied the new fare.

"But we haven't changed all our meters yet. We provide each
taxi with a table of the old and new fares which was provided by
Organda for all the taxi companies in the city," she said.

"Organda sells the table at Rp 2,500 each," she added.

Selly also said her company allowed the passengers to bargain
with the driver to use the old or new fare.

The Blue Bird Group, a major taxi operator, has also applied
the new fare although not all their meters have been adjusted.

"We provide our drivers with the table to help them calculate
the new fare," said an employee, Cory.

Separately, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications
Agum Gumelar instructed all transportation operators to honor
their commitment to improve services after the increase in fares.

"The increase in transportation fares, which took effect today
(Friday), has run well. Operators should pay more attention to
people's need for better transportation," Gumelar was quoted by
Antara as saying on Friday.

The minister also called on operators to improve the welfare
of their employees as well as efficiency in public transportation
management.

City administration records show there are some 22,000 taxis
operating in the city out of some 24,000 taxi licenses granted to
30 taxi operators. (nvn/ind)