The administration of Governor Fauzi Bowos has approved new taxi fares proposed by the Land Transportation Owners Organization (Organda) in line with fuel price increases.

The governor said the new cab fares were based on Rp 6,000 (64 US cents) flag fall, Rp 3,000 per kilometer and Rp 30,000 waiting fee per hour, as proposed by Organda.

The charges are up from Rp 5,000 for flag fall, Rp 2,500 per kilometer and Rp 25,000 waiting fee per hour.

"I agree with Organda's proposal. The new fares will be applied soon," Fauzi said Tuesday at City Hall.

The Organda-proposed fares have also been approved by the city transportation agency and the Jakarta Transportation Council.

Organda secretary TR Panjaitan said he was pleased that the governor would soon introduce the new fares, which "have been negotiated among taxi businesses".

"Taxi companies should charge a flag fall of Rp 8,000 but that's impossible as the number of passengers would drop," he said.

The Blue Bird Group has said it is considering adopting a 20 percent increase on its taxi fares to maintain services.

Blue Bird spokesman Teguh Wijayanto said he was optimistic that all of his company's taxis could maintain an occupancy rate of 50 to 60 percent, with a daily average of 300 kilometers.

"Learning from the 2005 fuel price hike, we may only lose some customers for the first six months and will regain their trust after that," he said.

Taxi operator PT Express Transindo Utama, which is one of many taxi operators that apply lower rates — also known as tarif lama — is yet to decide whether it will increase its fares, company operational director Herwan Gozali, said,