Authorities agree to raise fares<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Many local administrations and councils across
\nthe country surrendered on Monday to demands for an increase in
\ntransport fares as thousands of commuters were again left
\nstranded in the wake of a strike by public minivan drivers.<\/p>\n
While not nationally organized, minivan drivers in cities
\nacross the country held demonstrations to protest the
\ngovernment's decision to increase the price of fuel by 30
\npercent.<\/p>\n
To avoid a further suspension of transport services, city
\nadministrations individually agreed to raise the public
\ntransportation fares by an average of around 20 percent.<\/p>\n
Excluding several parts of Jakarta, no violence resulted from
\nthe wave of protests that disrupted normal traffic flow and
\nprevented many people from using their regular form of transport.<\/p>\n
The strikes confirmed reports by police on Sunday that at
\nleast 19 Indonesian cities, most of them in Java, faced drivers'
\nstrikes due to the government's announcement late on Friday night
\nthat fuel prices would be increased.<\/p>\n
In the capital, the Jakarta administration looked set to
\nincrease fares of public transportation vans (Angkot) after the
\ncity's Land Transportation Owners' Association (Organda) proposed
\nthe rise on Monday.<\/p>\n
Organda proposed a fare rise of between Rp 100 and Rp 300 per
\npassenger from the current fares, but prohibited bus operators to
\nincrease their fares as they would receive compensation from the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
In Purwokerto, Central Java, all public transportation, inter-
\ncity buses and minivans serving city routes, stopped operating.<\/p>\n
The strike started at around 6 a.m., when most commuters
\nflooded terminals and streets to get to work and school.<\/p>\n
Drivers said it was only suitable that fares also be raised
\ngiven the fuel price increase.<\/p>\n
\"If the local administration wants us to resume operations
\nthey have to cancel the fuel price hike or increase the fares for
\npublic transportation,\" a driver said in Tanjung, some two
\nkilometers west of the main bus terminal, where drivers gathered
\nand parked their vehicles.<\/p>\n
Many drivers also blocked main roads, forcing other public
\ntransport from also operating.<\/p>\n
To overcome the situation, the local administration deployed
\ntrucks and cars to fetch stranded passengers along main routes
\nusually served by the striking drivers.<\/p>\n
Later on Monday, Banyumas administration agreed to temporarily
\nraise fares by 25 percent, while awaiting an official decree from
\nthe Central Java governor.<\/p>\n
\"This is a temporary decision and we're still waiting for
\nofficial approval by the Central Java governor,\" said Budiono, an
\nofficial at the local city land transportation agency.<\/p>\n
In Makassar, South Sulawesi, local city officials hurriedly
\nconvened a meeting with the land transportation organization as
\nthousands of public minivan drivers stopped operating.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, we've agreed to raise the fare of public transportation
\nto around 30 percent,\" Makassar deputy mayor Syamsul Ridjal said
\nafter the meeting.<\/p>\n
The fare for the public minivans, locally known as pete-pete,
\nrose from Rp 700 to Rp 1,000.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of students from various universities in Makassar
\nalso staged a rally to reject the price increase.<\/p>\n
\"We ask the South Sulawesi council to make a stand by refusing
\nimplementation of the fuel price rise in Makassar,\" said Wahida,
\none of the students.<\/p>\n
Public transport in Pekanbaru, Riau, also ground to a halt as
\nhundreds of minibus and minivan drivers urged higher fares by
\nrallying along the provincial capital's main streets.<\/p>\n
The city mayor and councillors pledged to approve a fare
\nincrease of up to 60 percent.<\/p>\n
In Palu, Central Sulawesi, officials at Tadaluko University
\nwere forced to operate two campus buses to pick up students
\ntrying to get to their exams on Monday.<\/p>\n
In Manado, North Sulawesi, the city mayor was forced to accept
\na raise from Rp 500 to Rp 700 as minivan drivers refused to
\ntransport students waiting to go to school.<\/p>\n
In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, drivers unilaterally increased
\ntheir fares by 15 percent without referring to authorities.<\/p>\n
The drivers told The Jakarta Post on Monday that they had been
\nforced to deviate from the normal procedure because the increase
\nin fuel prices sparked a rise in the cost of automotive spare
\nparts.<\/p>\n
The fares rose from Rp 800 to Rp 1,000 per adult passenger and
\nfrom Rp 300 to Rp 500 per student.<\/p>\n
Despite initial public outcry, they defended the fare hike as
\n\"compensation for ever-rising operational costs\".<\/p>\n
In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, commuters were given a broad
\nrange of alternatives as municipal authorities quickly prepared
\ndozens of trucks and official cars in anticipation of the strike.<\/p>\n
Pending approval of an increase in fares from the local
\nadministration, officials said drivers could go on strike or
\nraise their own fares within reasonable limits.<\/p>\n
But the municipal initiative to prepare alternative transport
\nfor commuters later in the day prompted drivers to resume their
\nnormal operations.(25\/27\/28\/30\/jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/authorities-agree-to-raise-fares-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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