Sun, 16 Feb 1997

Woman enjoys a taxi driver's life

JAKARTA (JP): What is rare always draws one's attention. And this is indeed true in the case of Detty Marni. Being a female taxi driver, she always gets the same question from curious passengers about why she is doing her job. Consequently, she has to tell the same story over and over again.

"I never dreamed of being a taxi driver," she said. "I took the job because I like kelayaban (going out)."

The best thing she likes about the job is the freedom. "No one can tell you to do this or that. And if you are tired you can take a rest."

The need for freedom is also what keeps her from switching jobs and becoming a private chauffeur.

Detty is one of two female drivers at the Citra taxi company, which has about 1,000 drivers. There are some 20,000 taxi drivers in the city, but only 10 are women.

Her driving skills and amiable attitude have helped her to become a good taxi driver. Though she has been an avid driver since her early teens, Detty admits that her knowledge of the technical aspects of a car is limited to changing tires.

"I can usually just call a mechanic if something breaks down," she said.

With her short hair and firm shoulders, people and passengers often mistake her for a man. It is not until you talk to her that you sense her femininity.

Detty was born in Padang, West Sumatra, in 1964, but grew up in Jambi. She went to a college in Padang and finished a three- year non-degree program in economics.

Upon graduation, she went to Jakarta to try her luck. She worked in a supermarket for a while, but then one of her parents died and she had to go back home.

In 1988, Detty returned to Jakarta. She got a job at a motorcycle dealership, and then moved to a car dealership. Detty started at the Steady Safe taxi company about three years ago.

The start of her days as a taxi driver began rather unauspiciously. On her second day at work she hit a child who was recklessly crossing the street.

"Just imagine how shocked I was. It was only my second day and I experienced such a terrible thing," she recalled.

She was traumatized and stayed away from work for about a week. Oddly enough, it was the child's father who encouraged her to get back behind the wheel. He even came to her employer and told him that it was not her fault.

"I had nothing else to do, anyway, so I began driving again," she said.

She worked 12 hours, sometimes 18 hours a day, but she had a day off every two working days. When she had to work 18 hours, she would start driving at 1 p.m. and finish at 7 a.m.

At night, she would wait for passengers at five-star hotels. She was selective in picking up passengers on the streets at night and around 4 a.m. she would head to the train station to pick up passengers.

So far, she has never had a bad experience with any passengers.

Detty has worked at Citra taxi since last July. After two months, she was promoted from the position of a reserve driver to a regular driver, which gave her the right to begin paying installments towards owning her own cab.

She has to hand over Rp 62,500 per day to the company.

"I hope I will be able to pay off the debt within four years or so," she said.

On a slow day, Detty earns at least Rp 20,000 for herself after paying her required installment. On a good day she can take home as much as Rp 100,000.

Sometimes being a female taxi driver can have its advantages in that her passengers tend to be more generous when they tip.

"There was one who gave me a Rp 20,000 tip for a Rp 5,000 fare," she said.

She has never been harassed or had her passengers make advances towards her.

"The main thing is to know how to carry yourself," she remarked.

In her three years of experience she has found her co-workers to be nice, helpful and accepting of her presence in the male dominated profession. She has never heard unflattering remarks regarding her gender from her colleagues.

"But of course I don't know what they say about me behind my back," she quipped.

Detty seems to have her future carefully planned out for the coming years. She wants to stay with the job until her installments are paid off. Once the car is her own, she hopes to have enough money to set up her own business as a trader. (mds/sim)