Drivers, passengers object to plan of bus fare increase<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumers' Foundation
\n(YLKI), drivers of medium-sized buses and their passengers have
\nall objected to the plan of the Organization of City Public
\nTransportation Owners (Organda) to increase the bus fare from Rp
\n300 (14 US cents) to Rp 750.<\/p>\n
They also raised objections to Organda's demand that it no
\nlonger be required to subsidize students which allows them to pay
\nonly Rp 100 instead of Rp 300.<\/p>\n
"I am afraid that if the government agrees with their plan,
\nthe salaries of low-income laborers would only be enough to pay
\nbus fares," Zoemrotin K. Soesilo, the chairman of the Indonesian
\nConsumers' Foundation, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.<\/p>\n
For instance, a laborer with a daily wage of Rp 3,800 would
\nhave to spend Rp 1,500 a day or 39 percent of his wage on
\ntransportation if the fare was increased to Rp 750, she said.<\/p>\n
The matter would be worse if the laborer has to transfer
\nbuses, she added.<\/p>\n
"A fare increase from Rp 300 to Rp 500 or even Rp 750 is not
\nproportional to the average income of daily laborers, or other
\nlow-income people who find it very difficult to get a wage
\nraise," Zoemrotin said.<\/p>\n
Objections to the planned increase of bus fares were also
\nraised by Muslih, 24, a technician who commutes every day from
\nTanah Abang, Central Jakarta, to his workplace in Cilangkap, East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Though dressed neatly like a white-collar worker, Muslih said
\nthe increase would still be financially heavy for him.<\/p>\n
Ellen, 30, a housewife whose husband works as a mechanic at
\nSempati Air, said that although she travels on Metromini
\nminibuses only once every two days to visit friends and
\nrelatives, she believes an increase would substantially effect
\nher daily expenses.<\/p>\n
Suyono, 19, a student of an economics school in Petukangan,
\nSouth Jakarta, and Yanto, 15, a junior high school student, also
\ncited economic reasons for their dislike of the proposed fare
\nincrease.<\/p>\n
Subsidy<\/p>\n
Zoemrotin said that the money for subsidizing students should
\nbe taken from the government's coffers instead of the bus owners
\nor the operators.<\/p>\n
He said the government, for instance, could allocate a portion
\nof parking taxes to subsidize the school children. Students could
\nbe asked to buy transport coupons at a lower price and bus
\nconductors could then exchange them at an appointed government
\noffice for the normal price, Zumrotin said.<\/p>\n
Sunarno, 29, a driver of a Metromini bus, told the Post he
\ntotally disagreed with the plan for three reasons:<\/p>\n
First, he said, it would almost certainly result in an
\nincrease in the rental fees the drivers must pay to bus owners.<\/p>\n
Second, many passengers were reluctant to pay the present fare
\nof Rp 300 and usually paid only Rp 200. Forcing them to pay would
\nresult in disruptive, noisy arguments, he added.<\/p>\n
Third, people might prefer going by bajaj (three-wheeled
\nmotor-engined taxis) to going by bus for short distances, he
\nsaid. Moreover, two or three people could use the bajaj and share
\nthe fare. "If this happened, our income would, of course, be
\naffected," he said.<\/p>\n
A group of around 10 drivers and conductors of the Kopaja
\nminibuses at Taman Puring, South Jakarta, all of whom requested
\nanonymity, told the Post they were pessimistic that the plan
\nwould work.<\/p>\n
Even at the present rate, some passengers pay only Rp 100.
\nThey say they will get off the bus soon because they are only
\ntraveling a short distance but usually stay on for a long time,
\nthe drivers said.<\/p>\n
Students<\/p>\n
"If the students get on our buses in group, say, more than
\nfive junior or senior high school students, we cannot force them
\nto pay if they don't want to. Otherwise, they will shatter the
\nwindows of our buses," they said.<\/p>\n
Most of the drivers, however, disagreed on whether students
\nshould no longer be given subsidy.<\/p>\n
"Imagine you are a low-income worker with five children.
\nWouldn't it burden you considerably if your children had to pay
\nRp 300 or even Rp 500 for fares to go to school?" one driver
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Another driver, however, said that he did not agree and
\nbelieved school children should be required to pay Rp 300.<\/p>\n
"I think Rp 300 is an ideal price and acceptable to most
\npeople," he added.<\/p>\n
H. Aip Sjarifuddin, Organda's chairman, told the Post earlier
\nthat he considered the fare increase urgent because owners of the
\nmedium-sized buses found it very hard adjusting their incomes to
\nthe escalating operating costs. (arf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/drivers-passengers-object-to-plan-of-bus-fare-increase-1447893297",
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