Taxi!

I take busways, sorry Trans Jakarta or taxis daily as I refuse to drive for the sake of my sanity. Driving giving me a nervous breakdown. I know all bule have been brainwashed into taking Blue Bird or if no other choice: Express.

From my experience, I'd rather not taking Blue Bird. First, it is more expensive. Second, most of the times I took Blue Bird, the driver had only vague idea on how to get to my destination because chances are they are just started driving a cab for several months. Therefore I try not to take Blue Bird because put two and two together, it'll be an expensive trip. Thank you very much.

My favorite taxi during any traffic jam is Transcab. Yes, John, I heard you snickering. Listen, it's cheap, the drivers are experienced and polite, plus it has a decent tv. The down side is, there are only a few hundreds Transcab in Jakarta.

Another favorite is Cipaganti with it's loud red paint job. Again, it's cheap, the drivers know Jakarta well and each has build-in mobile phone/laptop charger unit (but you still need your cables). The down side is its tv is karaoke only, well it can also be an up side for you.

I've been having interesting chat with Gamya's drivers lately. Some used to work for Banks, others worked for insurance companies. They know their way, and the car is clean inside and out. Since one of their pool is near my place, it's easy getting them. The down side is, most of the time they dont have enough change for a Rp. 100K, because most of the time I was their first client of the day.

If any of the above three cabs arent available (which is sadly more often than not), I take Express. Although their drivers are knowledgeable, most of the time their white lining is dirty and every now and then I see cockroach crawling.

Only when I am desperate I take other cabs such as Taxiku, but I steer clear of Kosti no matter what.

So, there you go, my take on Jakarta's taxis.