New fares introduced following driver protest<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
Mayor Abdillah of Medan, the North Sumatra capital, introduced
\nnew fares for public minivans on Thursday following a protest by
\nhundreds of minivan drivers grouped under the Association of
\nMedan Public Minivan Drivers\/Owners (Kesper) earlier in the
\nmorning.<\/p>\n
With the mayor's ruling, drivers can now charge Rp 1,100 (12
\nUS cents) per passenger per route, up from the previous Rp 900.
\nMeanwhile, the special fare for students remains unchanged at Rp
\n500 per passenger per route.<\/p>\n
The new fares were announced by Medan's Administration Affairs
\nAssistant Aslan Harahap to a delegation of protesting Kesper
\ndrivers at the municipality office.<\/p>\n
The drivers' protest, which began at 7:30 a.m., left thousands
\nof office employees and students stranded between Jl. Jamin
\nGinting and Jl. Pancing in Medan.<\/p>\n
But the protest only lasted for one-and-a-half hours as it
\nfailed to win the support of the majority of public minivan
\ndrivers in Medan.<\/p>\n
Most drivers, members of the Medan Public Minivan Cooperative
\n(KPUM), were clearly opposed to Thursday's protest.<\/p>\n
An executive with the KPUM, P. Samosir, said there were a lot
\nof students still sitting their final examinations on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"I also have kids. How would we feel, as parents, to see our
\nchildren unable to sit their exams due to the minivans being off
\nthe road?\" Samosir asked.<\/p>\n
With police escorts, the KPUM drivers managed to serve the
\nstranded passengers until 9 a.m.<\/p>\n
Previously, a minor clash erupted in the morning between
\nKesper drivers, who insisted on going ahead with their protest,
\nand KPUM drivers, who opposed the protest.<\/p>\n
Officials of both drivers' organizations even traded blows at
\nthe municipality office prior to the meeting with Aslan Harahap.
\nBut, the clashes were quickly brought under control by the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Kesper chairman David Sitorus defended the protest as an
\nexpression of disappointment against the Medan municipality's
\nfailure to respond to the drivers' demands that it take action to
\ndeal with the increasing number of public minivans operating in
\nthe city, the overlapping of routes and the protection money
\ndemanded by the city's hoodlums.<\/p>\n
He said the fare hike was not the solution to the drivers'
\ndemands, but rather they were seeking a reduction in the number
\nof minivans operating in the city.<\/p>\n
\"There are a total of 15,000 public minivans operating in
\nMedan, which is excessive if you consider that there are only 100
\nroutes. Ideally, one route should be served by 80 minivans, but
\ncurrently there are about 130 minivans serving each route,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Aslan Harahap said the Medan municipality had agreed to the
\ndemand for a reduction in the number of minivans, saying that the
\nMedan municipality, in cooperation with the Medan Land
\nTransportation Agency, would review the licenses already issued
\nto the minivan owners and conduct raids against the illegal
\noperation of public minivans.<\/p>\n
\"In the future, we'll issue permits for new minivans on a more
\nrestrictive basis,\" he said, while indicating that nine new
\napplications for public minivans had recently been received by
\nthe municipality.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Medan Baru District Police Chief Adj. Comr. Wira
\ntold reporters that the police had arrested dozens of protesters,
\nbelieved to be provocateurs during Thursday's protest.<\/p>\n
\"We're questioning them. If they are later proven not guilty,
\nwe'll release them,\" Wira said.<\/p>",
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