It has been two weeks since some of Jakarta’s taxi drivers staged violent protests on the streets against car-hailing services like Uber and GrabCar, which the drivers accused of unfair competition because they could circumvent transportation regulations and set their fares below those of conventional taxis.
But the government’s recent fuel price cut may go some ways towards leveling the playing field between the apps and conventional taxis.
On April 1, the government lowered Premium and Solar fuel prices sold by state-owned oil company Pertamina by Rp 500. Following this, the government has also introduced new regulations for public transport companies, including taxis, to reduce their fares.
For taxis, the new regulation lowers starting fares from Rp 7,500 to Rp 6,500, while the fare per km is reduced from Rp 4,000 to Rp 3,000.
Blue Bird and Express, arguably the two biggest taxi companies in Jakarta, welcomed the changes and said they would implement them soon.
“We’re lowering our fares in accordance with the government’s regulation, we obey the government’s policies,” said David Santoso, director of PT Express Transindo Utama, as quoted by Tempo yesterday.
Blue Bird Director Adrianto Djokosoetono said they will implement the new fares as soon as they reconfigure all of their taxi’s meters.
Even though many netizens said they’ll no longer use taxis (specifically Blue Bird) after the violent protests a fortnight ago, do you think these new lower fares will make them reconsider? Let us know your thoughts on our Facebook page.
Reader Interactions