Transportation permits issuance is big business<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Officials of the City Land Transportation Agency
\n(DLLAJ) have acknowledged there is a big difference between
\nofficial route permit fees and the charges found in the route
\npermit business.<\/p>\n
According to 1992 Municipality Regulation No. 9, owners of
\npublic transport vehicles are required to pay administration and
\nroute permit fees.<\/p>\n
The regulation states that the annual route permit fee is Rp
\n100,000 (US$40.80) for large buses, Rp 75,000 for medium-sized
\nbuses and Rp 50,000 for minivans.<\/p>\n
Drivers, cooperatives and owners of minivans and medium-sized
\nbuses have said they have paid between Rp 1 million and Rp 11
\nmillion, depending on whether routes had many passengers or not.<\/p>\n
Administration fees in the 1992 regulation include a five-year
\ntransportation business permit that costs Rp 30,000 for big
\nbuses, Rp 25,000 for medium-sized buses and Rp 20,000 for
\nminivans.<\/p>\n
However head of DLLAJ's transportation division, H.M. Djuhdi,
\ndenied that fees of millions of rupiah went to agency officials.<\/p>\n
\"That's out of our control,\" Djuhdi said, adding that the
\nagency was not lenient in issuing permits because they were
\nstrict with legal procedures.<\/p>\n
A researcher in transportation issues, Sonny Sulaksono, said
\nyesterday official route permit fees lacked transparency.<\/p>\n
The fees, reaching millions of rupiah for a route permit,
\nclaimed by bus company owners, he said, \"is actually the
\nestimated profit from a public transport vehicle sold to another
\nparty.\"<\/p>\n
Asked whether the business in route permits was a black
\nmarket, Sonny said there was no rule against buying and selling
\nroute permits.<\/p>\n
\"So it's not a black market, but it's getting there,\" he said.<\/p>\n
During the past week, drivers have alleged that DLLAJ and the
\nOrganization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) have
\nleniently issued route permits.<\/p>\n
Upset<\/p>\n
On some routes drivers were upset with new additional fleets
\nplying similar roads, while in other areas rumors of new buses
\nsparked more strikes.<\/p>\n
Drivers of M16 minivans plying between Kampung Melayu and
\nPasar Minggu had said new minivans in their area were operating
\nwithout permits from DLLAJ.<\/p>\n
Along the Tanah Abang-Joglo route in West Jakarta, drivers of
\nthe B92 Metromini buses had said new fleets of B17 minivans run
\nby the Koperasi Wahana Kalpika cooperative had taken about 300
\nmeters of their 18-kilometer route.<\/p>\n
DLLAJ's traffic transportation control subdivision head,
\nOriyanto Supardal, said overlapping routes were impossible to
\nprevent. He said normally a route could not be monopolized by one
\nbus fleet.<\/p>\n
Another agency official said some drivers were angered by
\ncompetition that only overlapped 100 meters of their route.<\/p>\n
About route permit issuance, the DLLAJ official said the
\npermit could be transferred to other owners and to other routes
\nand other vehicles as long as the transfer was reported to the
\nagency.<\/p>\n
\"But I hear that many old vehicles...are still operating while
\ntheir permits have been transferred to new ones,\" he said. DLLAJ
\nchief J.P. Sepang had alleged that this was why drivers were
\nangry over too many vehicles.<\/p>\n
Oriyanto said, \"If there is enough proof, we will investigate
\nowners and warn them.\"<\/p>\n
Minivans are considered unsuitable to operate properly when
\nthey have been in operation for six years, he said.<\/p>\n
Djuhdi said extending route permits and replacing old vehicles
\nwith new public transportation vehicles, or transferring
\nownership of route permits, required several steps that hindered
\nthe practice of illegal levies.<\/p>\n
He refused to give further details.<\/p>\n
Djuhdi said the number of minivans allowed to operate in the
\ncity was 6,125 vehicles which ply 77 different routes. Sepang had
\nsaid the designated limit of public transport vehicles had not
\nbeen reached.<\/p>\n
In all, the set figure for public transportation buses,
\nincluding minivans, allowed to operate in the city is 20,738
\nvehicles on 568 routes. (10\/anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/transportation-permits-issuance-is-big-business-1447893297",
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