Jakarta, March 14 (IANS) Over a thousand taxi drivers in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Monday held a protest strike against mobile transportation applications such as Uber and GrabTaxi.
Taxi drivers and other public transportation drivers rallied in the city centre since 9.00 a.m., EFE news reported.
Some carried banners with messages denouncing "dark and illegal" transportation applications and imploring Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama to help the drivers, while others shouted slogans like "Reject Uber and Grab Car".
The strike made it harder to find taxis in downtown Jakarta, and authorities feared the transportation situation could worsen during rush hour.
Representatives of the Land Transportation Drivers Association sought to meet Purnama and President Joko Widodo and "convey our protestations regarding the presence of illegal transportation operating as non-public transportation through application service companies", said Budiyanto from the Jakarta Police's traffic directorate.
The chairman of the Jakarta Land Transportation Owners has urged people to use other, non-application-based means of transportation in view of the protest.
