T

he operation of taxis based in satellite towns has tightened up competition between taxi firms in the capital, according to a member of the Jakarta Transportation Council.

'The Jakarta administration will no longer issue licenses for new taxi companies. Some companies, therefore, have registered their businesses in towns adjacent to Jakarta like Bekasi, Bogor and Depok in West Java and Tangerang in Banten,' Tulus Abadi told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview.

According to data from the Jakarta Transport Agency, 37 companies are operating 27,401 cabs in the capital, exceeding the quota of 27,000 cabs.

One newcomer to the taxi industry is Abdul Fatah Mokoginta, the operational director of PT Erfamar Sarana Mandiri, who said his company was trying to seize opportunities in Jakarta by registering its taxi business in Tangerang and operating its cabs in the capital.

The company launched the operation of its green taxis bearing the name Green Go on June 6.

'We obtained our license from Banten Transport Agency but we park our 50 cabs in Cinangka Village, Depok, so they can easily transport passengers from and to Jakarta,' Fatah told the Post recently.

M. Siburian, the head of the taxi division of the Indonesia Land Transportation Owners Association, said that the lack of passengers in Jakarta's satellite towns had caused taxi companies and drivers to compete for passengers in Jakarta.

'This has created fierce competition that encourages companies and drivers to use various tricks,' he said.

Tulus said some drivers, for example, used improper strategies in competing against one another in order to meet their daily revenue targets.

'Some drivers manipulate their taxi meters to jack up the fare rate,' he said. 'Some drivers drive their cars at dangerously high speeds to achieve their targets in a short period of time.'

Tulus said drivers' reckless behavior posed a threat to the safety of passengers. He said some companies also tried to attract passengers by using marketing gimmicks.

Fatah acknowledged that his company was trying to use Green Go as a brand name and to paint its cabs green to attract passengers, even though the cars were not environmentally friendly.

'Eco-friendly cars use biodiesel or gas as their fuel but we use Premium gasoline,' he said. (ogi)