Strike leaves passengers stranded<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Thousands of passengers were left stranded on Monday when bus
\ndrivers went on strike to demand that the government raise fares
\nfollowing the steep fuel price increases announced on Friday.<\/p>\n
In Medan, student Fransiska Manik found it impossible to get
\nto the University of North Sumatra despite waiting for a public
\nminivan for two hours.<\/p>\n
\"I've been standing here for two hours but no public minivan
\nhas passed. I'm sweaty and really upset because I can't get to my
\ncampus. And I can't afford to take a pedicab, it's so much more
\nexpensive and I don't have the money,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
All bus drivers in the city went on strike on Monday, forcing
\nmany workers and students to skip work or school.<\/p>\n
Left with no other choice, private employee Susan took a
\npedicab to work. \"I had to take a pedicab even though it cost Rp
\n6,000, much more than Rp 1,400 I usually pay on a public
\nminivan,\" said the resident of Padang Bulan.<\/p>\n
Strike coordinator B. Situmeang said the strike would continue
\nuntil the government set new fares to adjust to the higher fuel
\nprices.<\/p>\n
One public minivan driver, Asno Susanto, said the increase had
\ncost him money. \"I've lost money, since I need Rp 70,000 a day to
\nbuy fuel but don't earn that much since fares have remained the
\nsame,\" Asno said.<\/p>\n
The head of Medan's Transportation Office, Aslan Harahap, said
\nthe administration would discuss increasing public transportation
\nfares with representatives from the Organization of Land
\nTransportation Owners (Organda), the Indonesian Consumers
\nFoundation and other relevant organizations.<\/p>\n
\"My office is waiting for Organda's proposal on new fares.
\nAfter that we'll meet to set them,\" Harahap said, adding that the
\nmeeting was expected to take place on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He said the new fares would reflect the Ministry of
\nTransportation's policies, prices of spare parts and operational
\ncosts. \"The increase could be around 40 percent at most,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Protests also took place in Pekanbaru and Makassar, where
\ndozens of drivers forced passengers out of their buses while they
\ndemanded that the city administrations set new fares.<\/p>\n
In Palu, public transportation drivers charged passengers a
\nhigher fare -- Rp 2,500 instead of the previous Rp 1,500. They
\ncharged the higher fare after their proposed fare was rejected by
\nMayor Suardin Suebo, who set the new fare at Rp 2,000.<\/p>\n
In Kupang, drivers of city and intercity buses went on strike,
\ndemanding the governor adjust fares in accordance with new fuel
\nprices.<\/p>\n
An intercity bus driver, Mathias Nubatonis, said his income
\nhad decreased 50 percent after the government announced the new
\nfuel prices. \"For a trip to Kefamenanu town some 280 kilometers
\naway, we set a fare of Rp 20,000 per passengers. Before, we could
\nearn Rp 200,000 but now it's only Rp 100,000 since we spend more
\nmoney on fuel,\" Mathias said.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, hundreds of bus drivers went on strike and parked
\ntheir vehicles outside the Semarang mayor's office. The drivers
\ndemanded the city administration raise fares from the current Rp
\n1,500 per passenger to Rp 2,000.<\/p>\n
Some 500 members of the National Workers Union also staged a
\nnoisy protest in the city on Monday, demanding the government
\nraise their wages to at least Rp 1 million to help them deal with
\nescalating prices following the fuel price increases.<\/p>\n
\"Fuel prices are so high, workers are becoming more wretched.
\nThe governor should issue a new regulation on workers' wages,\"
\nsaid the secretary of the union's Central Java chapter, Nanang
\nSetyono.<\/p>\n
The workers also urged state electricity company PLN not to
\nraise electricity rates.<\/p>",
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