TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Extended odd-even policy worries online taxi drivers
Change Size
Jakarta Police officers explain the odd-even license plate policy to a motorist near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on July 27, 2016. (Antara Foto/Aprillio Akbar)
S
ome app-base taxi drivers have objected to the extension of the odd-even license plate policy in Jakarta. The measure has been taken to alleviate congestion and to ensure smooth traffic during the Asian Games.
Haryadi, 43, a driver who usually operates around Jl. Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, says he can no longer work on odd-numbered dates because his car’s license plate ends in an even number.
“Being an online taxi driver is all that I have. If the odd-even policy is being implemented in many roads and it affects my daily earnings, how will I pay for the installments on this car?” he said as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.
Another driver, Aryo, said he worked as an online taxi driver to help pay his tuition fees at a private university in Jakarta.
“I have no choice but to agree [with the updated policy] although my earnings will definitely drop,” he said.
Aryo went on to explain that he usually received many orders during lunch hour.
The city is conducting a trial run of the odd-even policy that will last until July 31 and officially come into effect on Aug. 1 until Sept. 2.
The rule, which has been in place on Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin in South and Central Jakarta, has been expanded to other arterial roads, namely Jl. DI Panjaitan and Jl. Ahmad Yani in East Jakarta; Jl. Benyamin Sueb in Central Jakarta; Jl. Metro Pondok Indah, Jl. MT Haryono and Jl. Rasuna Said in South Jakarta, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
