A

round 16,700 or 70 percent of the total vehicles serving the travel industry in Bali are operating without necessary permits, a transportation official said Wednesday.

Sugeng Sugiarto, the head of land transportation division at the Bali Transportation, Communication and Information Agency, said there were 23,000 vehicles operating but only 30 percent of the numbers had the required permits.

Sugeng was speaking on the sidelines of a development meeting for illegal transportation firms.

Travel transportation is divided into two categories: Tourism transport for vehicles with more than nine seats, and rental vehicles with less than nine seats.

The agency has frequently conducted operations to net illegal travel cars in some popular tourist sites such as in Tanah Lot in Tabanan regency, Taman Ayun in Badung regency, and Tampak Siring and Goa Gajah in Gianyar regency.

"We usually net around 50 illegal cars in every operation," Sugiharto said.

So far the agency has impounded 300 illegal cars.

"We need more time and human resources to catch those illegal cars," he added.

Yus Suhartana, secretary of the Bali chapter of the Organization of Land Transportation Owner (Organda) and an official at the Bali Association of Travel Transportation Companies, said the growing number of illegal travel cars was caused by the provincial administration itself.

Since 1999, the transportation agency has stopped issuing operation permits for new travel transportation vehicles to protect existing transportation firms during the financial crisis.

"It is time for the provincial administration to review this policy. It should issue new permits because illegal transpotation threatens the existence of legal transportation businesses here," Suhartana said.

He added most illegal vehicles offered half the fare of the legal ones.

"They don't have to pay taxes, insurance for passengers or other fees," he said.

"That is why they can cut costs, and consumers prefer to have cheaper travel."

He also said many villas in Badung, Ubud and Denpasar operated their own travel cars without any permits.

"That's not fair. Their cars must be registered with the agency just like other travel firms," he insisted.

Most hotels, especially star-rated hotels, register their cars as travel transportation vehicles.

Wira, who owned three illegal travel cars netted by the agency, said he did not have a license as he did not know how to apply for one.

"I will immediately apply for a license but other illegal travel firms must also apply as there are so many of them operating."