Minister says bus fares hike is final<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
An agreement between legislators and the government to raise
\nintercity bus fares during the upcoming holiday season by 12
\npercent has caused an uproar as the government insisted that the
\ndecision was final, while bus operators continued to demand more.<\/p>\n
Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar reiterated on Thursday
\nthat the decision on the 12 percent bus fare increase was already
\nfinal as it had gone through a series of discussions and all
\nintercity bus companies had to abide by the decision.<\/p>\n
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Agum warned the bus
\ncompanies to continue serving the public over the Idul Fitri,
\nChristmas and New Year holidays and not to strike due to their
\ndissatisfaction with the fare increase.<\/p>\n
\"It's a final decision and the government will closely
\nsupervise its implementation,\" Agum said, adding that the
\ngovernment would impose heavy penalties on those violating the
\nruling.<\/p>\n
Agum, a former commander of the Army's Special Force
\n(Kopassus), also urged the Organization of Land Transportation
\nOwners (Organda) to accept the decision and not participate in
\nany strike action.<\/p>\n
The temporary 12 percent increase in intercity bus fares,
\nknown as 'Tuslah', is lower than the original government proposal
\nof 20 percent. In comparison, fares were raised by 25 percent
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
The initial proposal was revised because Organda had already
\nincreased bus fares in July by up to 20.5 percent to compensate
\nfor an increase in the price of fuel.<\/p>\n
The temporary increase aims to compensate companies for the
\nempty seats on return trips to Jakarta and other major cities
\nafter having transported people to their home towns to celebrate
\nthe Idul Fitri holiday.<\/p>\n
In practice, however, passengers are often forced to pay more
\nthan the official price stipulated by the government.<\/p>\n
Organda chairman G.T. Soerbakti strongly criticized the
\ngovernment ruling, saying the small increase would prevent bus
\noperators from providing good services to passengers.<\/p>\n
\"We're very shocked with the decision. We ask that the
\ngovernment review the decision,\" he said, adding that the
\nincrease should be nearer to 35 percent.<\/p>\n
\"But whatever decision the government takes we cannot avoid
\nand have to comply with it,\" Soerbakti told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He explained that the bus operators are badly in need of fare
\nincreases during such long holidays because they will be forced
\nto spend a lot more money on operational expenses.<\/p>\n
\"The biggest portion of expenditure will be on extra pay for
\nboth the drivers and mechanics, who will all work overtime during
\nthe holidays,\" Soerbakti said.<\/p>\n
\"Whenever the intercity bus operators have not been able to
\nmeet substantially increasing demand for seats, we used to ask
\nthe Jakarta city bus operators to provide spare buses. However, I
\nam afraid they will be reluctant to respond to our request this
\nyear due to the small amount of income they will receive,\"
\nSoerbakti remarked.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) urged bus
\noperators to pay attention to customers' interests despite the
\nlower than expected bus fare hike.<\/p>\n
\"It is their social responsibility to serve the public's
\ninterest,\" YLKI executive secretary Retno Widiastuti said.<\/p>\n
A higher increase will further burden consumers, Retno said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-says-bus-fares-hike-is-final-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }