Council gives only limited support for bus fare increase<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): City Council Speaker Edy Waluyo rejected on
\nMonday a possible bus fare increase following the central
\ngovernment's decision to raise fuel prices by 30 percent later
\nthis week.<\/p>\n
Should bus operators insist on increasing fares, the increase
\nshould be limited to air-conditioned buses only, which generally
\ntarget higher-income commuters.<\/p>\n
As for regular buses, Edy said, the council would fight to
\nmaintain current bus fare levels as any increase would affect
\nless privileged people.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the city administration subsidize regular
\nbuses by using the city budget's reserve fund, which totals Rp
\n400 billion (US$36 million).<\/p>\n
"The city council would not reject the subsidy if it were for
\npoor people. We will allow the administration to decide on the
\ntechnicalities of the subsidy," Edy said.<\/p>\n
The fares for city buses currently range from Rp 500, for non
\nair-conditioned and regular buses, to Rp 2,500 for air-
\nconditioned buses.<\/p>\n
Bus operators have claimed that the fuel price increase would
\nraise operational costs for public buses and also raise the cost
\nof spare parts. For these reasons, they have demanded that the
\ncity administration adjust bus fares in line with the fuel price
\nincrease.<\/p>\n
Separately, City Governor Sutiyoso suggested that a bus fare
\nincrease was unavoidable because of the central government's
\ndecision to raise the price of fuel.<\/p>\n
"Drivers and bus owners do not want to suffer losses due to
\nthe fuel price hike, do they?," Sutiyoso said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, he insisted the fare increase should not exceed
\nthe change in fuel price.<\/p>\n
He said the bus fare increase was necessary to keep bus
\noperators in the city in business.<\/p>\n
Jakarta currently has about 20,000 big, medium and small
\npublic buses. Only 35 percent of that number are operational,
\nhowever, while the remaining 65 percent, mostly old buses, are
\nimmobile.<\/p>\n
The city administration is currently planning a rejuvenation
\nprogram for public buses. It plans to purchase some 2,000 buses
\nfrom local manufacturer PT Texmaco, as well as importing buses
\nfrom China and Korea.<\/p>\n
The acquisition from Texmaco was previously suspended because
\nno financial institutions were willing to fund the purchase.<\/p>\n
Banks have rejected loans to bus operators, saying that the
\nfunds could not be repaid while they were charging such low
\nfares.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso said recently that the administration was
\nseeking bank loans to finance the purchase of Texmaco buses,
\ncalled Perkasa.<\/p>\n
Edy Waluyo said on Monday that the city administration should
\ndecide quickly whether it would go ahead with its plan to buy
\nbuses from Texmaco.<\/p>\n
"It should be decided quickly. If not, the decision could hang
\nin the balance," Edy said.<\/p>\n
Edy said that it would be better for the city administration
\nto buy buses from a local company like Texmaco rather than
\nimporting them from overseas, in order to boost employment at
\nlocal companies.<\/p>\n
He suggested that city-owned Bank DKI take the initiative to
\narrange loans with other banks to finance the purchase of Perkasa
\nbuses.<\/p>\n
"Bank DKI probably does not have the funds, but it could act
\nas a broker. I don't know whether the bank has tried that
\nbefore," Edy added. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/council-gives-only-limited-support-for-bus-fare-increase-1447893297",
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