Taxi firm tightens control after violent robbery

Taxi firm tightens control after violent robbery

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Would-be passengers have to be careful when taking a taxi, even
if it belongs to a reputable company.

City police have arrested a Blue Bird taxi driver, identified
as Supriyadi, 45, for plotting with friends to rob his
passengers.

Blue Bird Group spokesman Riva Lazuardi admitted on Thursday
that Supriyadi, who drove a Pusaka Lintas taxi with door number
EL 816, had used his cab to rob and assault South Korean Nam Ho
In, 40, last Oct. 1. Taxis belonging to the Blue Bird Group are
known for their security.

Supriyadi and his accomplice snatched Nam's cell phone and Rp
9.5 million in cash. Supriyadi and his two accomplices were
arrested last Wednesday and are now in police custody.

"We have done our utmost to ensure the security and safety of
our passengers with our tough recruitment system for drivers.
However, we admit that the system cannot guarantee security and
safety 100 percent. This case is the first in our 33 years of
operation," Riva told The Jakarta Post.

He said that his company, which operates 9,000 of the more
than 26,000 taxis in the capital, has taken measures to respond
to the incident.

"We have tightened requirements for new drivers, while we are
also carrying out new screening processes for all of our 15,000
drivers," he said.

In addition, the company would intensify its monitoring system
using an incentive scheme where drivers will receive rewards for
informing on any wrongdoings by their colleagues.

"We will again empower our internal plainclothes patrol force
who pretend to be passengers to catch out bad drivers," he added.

He advised passengers to as much as possible use the taxi call
service rather than just stopping a taxi on the street.

"We are awaiting the results of the legal proceedings over the
robbery case. If the court rules that the perpetrator did in fact
use our taxi, then we are ready to compensate for any losses
suffered by the victim," he said.

J. Hamonangan Sitorus, taxi division secretary of the Jakarta
branch of the Organization of the Land Transportation Owners
(Organda DKI), said many companies failed to impose tough
requirements on drivers since demand for drivers has been
relatively high recently amid stiffer competition in the business
thanks to the influx of new players.

"It has been a common practice in some poorly-monitored taxi
companies where a driver will rent his taxi to another driver,
who then also rent it to another person. It's no wonder such
robberies happen," he said.

"Two years ago, we tried to use a computerized system that
required all taxi operators to register their drivers with
Organda in order to reduce the high mobility of drivers moving
from one company to another. Unfortunately, such a system is no
longer effective as many operators are reluctant to use it," he
said.

Currently, there are at least 42 taxi companies operating in
the city alone.

He said that little had been done by the administration to
regulate taxi operators.