Yogyakarta taxi business in a sorry state

By Soeryo Winoto

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Yogyakarta is not as comfortable as it used to be; a local paper said in its editorial recently.

The statement is very relevant, at least to those who want to travel by taxi in the historic city.

All the drivers speak very politely, as Yogyakartans do, when they ask prospective passengers for a certain amount of money as the passenger gets into the cab and asks the driver to take them to their destination.

A passenger shared a bad experience he had with a taxi when he hailed a taxi on a small street near the well-known thoroughfare of Malioboro last month.

"I was very surprised. The meter was off, the air-conditioner was completely off, while the driver's cigarette in his lips was still on."

The driver calmly asked him for Rp 10,000, despite the fact that a trip of that distance would cost less than Rp 4,000 if the meter was on, he said.

Another domestic tourist, Johny (not his real name), said he once ordered a taxi by phone from his office.

"It is now 8 p.m. Would you please pay Rp 15,000 for the service," the operator replied.

Johny said he had to agree, although he knew that for a stretch of less than four kilometers, with a flag fall of Rp 1,500 and Rp 750 per kilometer, the taxi meter would normally amount to no more than Rp 7,000.

What's wrong with Yogyakarta's taxis?

There are now 17 companies, which operate an average of 50 cabs each. No one can say which company is the best.

"The taxi business has been sick for a long time," a taxi driver told me. "We want the administration to take heed and respond to our demand for an increase in taxi fares," said Imam, a Jas Taxi driver.

"The fuel prices keep increasing. The price of staple goods has rocketed. Nothing is cheap in this country, but we have had to be patient with our low income," he complained.

He said he had to collect more than Rp 130,000 during a 24- hour operation period. "I have to give the boss Rp 80,000 as a daily fee and I need at least Rp 15,000 for meals, drinks and cigarettes. I also have to set aside some money to buy gasoline. Don't you think I deserve the rest of the money after staying up for a full day and night?"

Imam has two children, who are at junior high school.

He said the provincial branch of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) had proposed an increase in taxi fares to the administration but to no avail. "We are getting tired and find our own way to get money from passengers."

"Yogyakarta is not as large as Jakarta. A short trip by taxi in Jakarta may cover at least seven or ten kilometers, clocking up about Rp 10,000 or more on the meter. Here in Yogyakarta, we usually have to take a passenger a distance of only three kilometers. How much could I take home if I depended totally on the taxi meter," another driver said to explain why he asked for higher fares.

Another driver, Minto, from Armada Taxi, said in April that the administration would increase the taxi fare in May.

"So, since the administration has failed to keep its promise, the situation will continue, meaning that taxi services in Yogyakarta would deteriorate."

"As a human being, I always feel guilty whenever I demand a certain fare from the passengers and turn the meter off," he admitted.

"It's true. I always feel that I'm robbing the passengers when I refuse to turn the meter on and ask for Rp 10,000 for a distance which actually costs only Rp 3,500. I really regret that," Handoyo, another driver for Sadewa Taxi, said.

Handoyo and other fellow drivers said that they were very disappointed with the administration's failure to keep its promise to issue a new regulation on the new taxi fare in May as promised.

There is no explanation as to why the administration has not yet decided on new taxi rates.

Chairman of Yogyakarta Consumers Protection Foundation (YLK Yogyakarta) Martinus Ujianto said that something must be done to end the taxi woes.

"We've been informed about unscrupulous taxi drivers, but we have yet to receive any official complaints from the public."

"The drivers and the taxi companies' shareholders must talk," Ujianto said.

He also criticized the shareholders and taxi owners for turning a deaf ear to the complaints of drivers and passengers. "They have ignored the service. They seem to be unaware of consumers' demand for better service."

"Ideally, a dialog involving officials from the Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ), the provincial councillors, consumers and drivers' representatives must be held to end the impasse."

The taxi saga has long been a concern of the city legislative council, which is now preparing a draft bill issuing a regulation on the new taxi fare.

H.M. Umar, chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB-F) faction at the Yogyakarta legislative council said, "the best solution is probably that the new fare be applied for newer taxis and the old taxis use the old rate. The Jakarta administration issued a regulation like that. We are currently preparing the regulation. We expect the bill to be ready next month, and we can talk with the executive branch soon after that," said Umar.

Umar said the council was aware that the taxi problem could tarnish Yogyakarta's image as a tourist destination.