Organda welcomes hike, no hope of better service<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Public transportation owners in the city have been proposing a
\nfare hike, but they are reluctant to improve services to
\npassengers. The poor service is worsened by the fact that the
\nvehicles are also in poor condition.<\/p>\n
Putu Wirta Antara, executive of the Jakarta Land
\nTransportation Owners (Organda), claimed on Saturday that public
\ntransportation operators have no other choice but increasing the
\ntariff due to the hike of prices for spare parts.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, some public vehicles would be out-of-order.<\/p>\n
\"Forget the idea on improving services. If the city
\nadministration approves our proposal, the increasing income can
\nonly be used to survive. If we still have to improve our service
\n(from the hike), the number of vehicles would decrease,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Organda has been proposing a tariff increase between 10 and 50
\npercent recently. Public minivan maximum fares are currently Rp
\n1,400 (US cents 14), regular buses fares are Rp 900 and air-
\nconditioned bus fares are Rp 3,300.<\/p>\n
Putu also claimed that operators could not afford to buy spare
\nparts, the prices of which have increased by up to 30 percent.
\nSome spare parts vendors, however, revealed that, since July,
\nthey have yet to increase the price.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are over 20,000 public vehicles -- from
\nminivans, minibuses and buses -- are running here. Most vehicles
\nhave been used for more than 12 years.<\/p>\n
In a bid to survive, operators have to deploy fake spare
\nparts, or repair the broken vehicles to local garage. An action
\nthat has worsened the vehicles' condition day by day.<\/p>\n
Organda chairman, Aip Syafiruddin, claimed the fare hike
\nproposal was an idea from the drivers.<\/p>\n
\"The drivers have suggested on proposing for a fare hike. They
\nhave been complaining on the dropping earnings due to the fuel
\nprice hike,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The truth was the fuel price hike has never bothered the bus
\ndrivers. The increasing rental fee did.<\/p>\n
\"Bus owners had increased the rental fee from Rp 300,000 to Rp
\n400,000 a day since December,\" Manurung, a bus driver plying Blok
\nM - Kalideres, groaned.<\/p>\n
A driver is only responsible for buying the fuel, but the
\nmaintenance is the vehicle owner's responsibility.<\/p>\n
\"We don't mind the fuel price hike because we only spend an
\nadditional Rp 15,000 per day for 150 liters of diesel fuel. But
\nwe can't afford the rental fee increase,\" Manurung said.<\/p>\n
The city administration, which is supposed to be in charge of
\nmanaging the transportation system in the capital, has failed to
\nmanage the issue seriously.<\/p>\n
It has kept promising to improve the city transportation
\nsystem, including replacing the old vehicles with the new,
\nimported ones. Up to today, the promises have never been met.<\/p>\n
The administration has mostly approved the proposal from
\nOrganda to increase the fares instead of improving services to
\npassengers.<\/p>\n
Last year, it gave a green light to Organda to increase the
\nfare up to 40 percent following 20 percent fuel price increase.<\/p>\n
The City Transportation Agency has always claimed that public
\ntransportation operators would increase its services after the
\nhike. However, passengers must always deal with the poor service.<\/p>\n
Some transportation experts and consumer bodies have
\nrepeatedly called on the administration to improve the city's
\ntransportation system, including the vehicles' conditions.<\/p>\n
Passengers, they said, deserve to feel comfortable yet safe
\ntransportation as they are tax payers.<\/p>",
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