Higher fares again<\/p>\n
The decision announced by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso Thursday
\nto raise taxi and PATAS air-conditioned bus fares in the city is
\nlogical and unavoidable following the recent increase in fuel
\nprices. It was also the logical step to take after regular bus
\nand minibus fares were increased Monday as a consequence of the
\nfuel price hike and other fare rises. In other words, it was a
\nstep that everyone must have seen coming given the government's
\ncommitment to carry through the economic reforms mandated by the
\nInternational Monetary Fund. Nevertheless, the decision is
\ncertain to add to the people's existing difficulties and thus
\ngive further reason for discontent.<\/p>\n
While as far as the public is concerned the new fares
\nrepresent quite a substantial increase -- around 50 percent or
\nmore -- over the old, they don't help public transportation
\ncompany operators to adequately cover their regular maintenance
\ncosts and overheads.<\/p>\n
Clearly, dissatisfaction on both sides of the equation is
\ndifficult to avoid. While Jakarta's citizens are already
\nanxiously calculating the coming inescapable rise in their
\npersonal monthly traveling and commuting expenses, taxi operators
\nare expecting a slump, which they expect to last for as long as
\nit takes for passengers to get over the initial shock of having
\nto pay the considerably higher new fares. And not without reason.
\nTaxi operators depend mostly on passengers from the middle- and
\nlower-middle income groups for their income. For these people,
\nthe city's better bus services provide a cheaper if less
\ncomfortable means of transportation.<\/p>\n
Though bus operators may consider themselves more fortunate in
\nthat there are practically no cheaper public transportation
\nalternatives for people in the city, students may on occasion
\nfind it difficult to find transportation to and from school as
\nbus and minibus drivers may refuse to take them despite official
\nthreats that their operating licenses could be suspended if they
\nrefuse. Many bus operators complain that the officially
\nauthorized student fare of Rp 100 (1.1 U.S. cents) is much too
\nlow and should be at least twice as high.<\/p>\n
In crisis conditions such as the present, it is certainly not
\neasy for operators and city officials to come up with a solution
\nthat satisfies all, particularly the transportation companies and
\nthe commuting public. Certainly bus and taxi companies cannot be
\nexpected to operate at a loss on a continual basis and still
\nsurvive. The best that people can do for the present is to
\nallocate their expenses with care and wait for the inevitable
\neconomic equilibrium to re-establish itself.<\/p>\n
The widespread objections to the fare hikes are certainly
\nunderstandable in current conditions. The economic and monetary
\ncrises are making it difficult enough for people to make ends
\nmeet even without the fuel and fare hikes. Under present
\ncircumstances, however, we don't quite see how the government can
\nextricate itself from its commitment to gradually eliminate
\nburdensome subsidies, which must unfortunately lead to price
\nincreases in many areas.<\/p>\n
With persistence, however, conditions are sure to improve. The
\nquestion is whether people will or can have the patience to wait
\nfor months, or even years, for things to start looking up. The
\none thing we all can do to make life easier, however, is to avoid
\nany unnecessary actions that can aggravate the situation and make
\nlife's burdens even heavier, especially for the less privileged
\namong us.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/higher-fares-again-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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