Sri Bintang wants merger of public transit companies<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An outspoken member of the House of
\nRepresentatives has suggested the authority to ask all privately-
\nowned public transportation companies to merge so that they can
\nbe properly controlled in order to provide more comfortable
\ndesirable transportation means.<\/p>\n
"In many countries, public transportation is always
\nmonopolized by the authorities which assign a special body to
\noversee it," Sri-Bintang Pamungkas told a seminar yesterday.<\/p>\n
"The body is then required to manage the firm in a
\nprofessional way and is allowed to decide on a certain bus fee,"
\nhe said. "If it went bankrupt, the body should be subsidized by
\nthe government to continue its services to the public."<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, he said, public transportation services are
\ncarried out by many private companies under a fee schedule set by
\nthe government with no subsidy.<\/p>\n
"As a result, the companies compete with each other to earn as
\nmuch profit as they can without having to serve the public
\nproperly," he said. Then, if they fail to reach the target,
\nincluding bribing officers, they can easily go on strike.<\/p>\n
The recent massive strike by minibus drivers in the city
\nattests to the inefficiency of the current Indonesian
\ntransportation system, Sri-Bintang pointed out.<\/p>\n
The monopoly of such a public utility, he said, is allowed by
\nIndonesia's Constitution. "It's time now for the government to
\nmonopolize public transportation services, especially in the big
\ncities."<\/p>\n
A must<\/p>\n
Asked to comment on the proposal, Director General of Land
\nTransportation Soejono said that the participation of private
\ncompanies in the city transportation system is a must due to the
\ngovernment's limited budget.<\/p>\n
"The government is still subsidizing a wide range of
\ntransportation means in many provinces outside Java, but in a big
\ncity like Jakarta the private sector has to participate," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The one-day seminar on car producers, traffic order and
\nnational development was opened by Minister of Transportation
\nHaryanto Dhanutirto.<\/p>\n
Organized by an automobile magazine, it was the first of its
\nkind held in the wake of last week's crippling strike. The
\nminibus drivers were protesting the new fine scale and the way
\ntraffic police officers ticketed them for committing minor
\ntraffic offenses.<\/p>\n
An executive of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners
\n(Organda) revealed that the main problem in supervising the
\nprivately-owned public vehicles is that most of the owners
\nare military and civil service officers.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association
\n(Gaikindo), Herman Z. Latif, proposed establishing a national
\ncouncil which might help the government discuss or propose a
\ndraft related to the transportation system.<\/p>\n
"The existence of the council is expected to help propose the
\ndraft and make the public fully understand the law," Herman said.
\n(bsr)<\/p>",
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