Urban turnpike toll hikes<\/p>\n
In 1978, when the authorities began collecting tolls on the
\nJagorawi turnpike connecting Jakarta and Ciawi, a hilly weekend
\nresort 60 kilometers south of the capital city, people complained
\nabout the high cost of using that road. In an effort to sooth the
\nfeelings of the disgruntled motorists, the government announced
\nthat the toll would be stopped as soon as the cost of the
\nconstruction of the road, which was the first major highway to be
\nput into operation in this country, had been recovered. What
\nhappened was that the authorities later increased the toll by
\nalmost 100 percent without any explanation.<\/p>\n
In 1992, the people started to complain again, when the
\ngovernment unilaterally raised tolls on five major turnpikes in
\nJava and Sumatra up to 25 percent. At the time, harsh criticism
\nof the government's action was also heard in the House of
\nRepresentatives -- a rare occurrence in Indonesia's national
\nlegislature. Some legislators attacked the policy because the
\nauthorities concerned had promised to consult the House before
\nmaking a final decision. The legislative body felt it had been
\ndeceived.<\/p>\n
At that time the government defended itself with the argument
\nthat it did not deem it necessary to consult the House of
\nRepresentatives on the matter because \"to do so would only
\ndiscourage investors\".<\/p>\n
Last June, when word began to spread that the government was
\nplanning to increase toll road rates again \"in order to attract
\nnew investment and upgrade existing toll road services\", members
\nof the House of Representatives' commission concerned with public
\nworks disagreed. They said higher fees should be set only for new
\ntoll roads.<\/p>\n
Now, the government has once again unilaterally decided to
\nraise the tolls. And although the new increases announced by the
\nIndonesian Highway Corporation (PT Jasa Marga), affect only the
\nTomang-Cawang-Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur toll road for now, few
\npeople believe that there will be no similar steps -- sooner or
\nlater -- for other sections of Jakarta's urban toll road network.<\/p>\n
Although the hard fact is that there is little that the public
\ncan do once the government has set its mind on taking a measure,
\nmany people feel that the authorities could have at least
\nexplained the calculations behind this particular step. This
\nseems reasonable in light of the fact that experience has shown
\nthat our people can be quite critical about any government policy
\nthat has a direct impact on their lives and interests.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reason behind this latest measure may be, many
\npeople in this country are quite well aware that most Southeast
\nAsian countries do not charge tolls on highways within cities.
\nBut where can the people go to register their complaints on such
\nmatters? The House of Representatives?<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/urban-turnpike-toll-hikes-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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