Water charges up 40%, bus fares 20%<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Life for Jakartans will get tougher starting this month as they
\nface a 40 percent increase in water charges and a 20 percent
\nincrease in bus fares.<\/p>\n
After a seven-hour meeting that lasted until Monday night,
\nCity Council leaders claimed that in order to accommodate the
\ninterests of all concerned they had to approve City Governor
\nSutiyoso's proposal to increase water rates by 40 percent and bus
\nfares by around 20 percent.<\/p>\n
The new water rates will be effective on Tuesday with the
\nexception of water charges for small consumers, while the date to
\nstart implementing the new bus fares will be decided by the
\ngovernor.<\/p>\n
Explaining the new water rates, City Council Deputy Speaker
\nChudlary Syafi'i told the press after the meeting that the
\nCouncil set 10 requirements, which should be implemented by the
\nwater operators as a precondition for the increase.<\/p>\n
\"If the operators do not implement the conditions, the City
\nCouncil will ask the city administration to revise this
\ndecision,\" said Chudlary.<\/p>\n
The conditions require the operators to report to the City
\nCouncil every three months; to reduce the number of expatriate
\nemployees and to reduce water leakage which still stands at 45
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Previously, Sutiyoso proposed an increase of 45 percent in tap
\nwater charges from the current price of Rp 3,100 (about 35 U.S.
\ncents) per cubic meter in response to the requests of two water
\noperators and their local partners, PT Thames Pam Jaya (TPJ) of
\nBritain and PT Pan Lyonaise Jaya (Palyja) of France.<\/p>\n
The bus fare increases that were approved by the Council are
\nas follows: regular bus fares to increase by 22 percent from Rp
\n900 to Rp 1,100, the express bus to increase by 17 percent from
\nRp 1,200 to Rp 1,400, and the medium-sized bus to increase by 20
\npercent from Rp 1,000 to 1,200.<\/p>\n
But bus fares for students will stay at Rp 500.<\/p>\n
Previously, figures proposed by the Jakarta Transportation
\nAgency were Rp 1,150 or a 28 percent increase from the current
\nfare for the regular bus, Rp 1,250 or a 25 percent increase for
\nthe medium-sized bus, and Rp 1,400 or a 17 percent increase for
\nthe express bus.<\/p>\n
While the Organization of Land Transportation Owners
\n(Organda)'s version of the fare hike was Rp 1,200 or a 33 percent
\nincrease from the current fare for the regular bus, Rp 1,300 or a
\n30 percent increase for the medium-sized bus, and Rp 1,500 or a
\n25 percent increase for the express bus.<\/p>\n
For the bus operators, the City Council also set a number of
\nconditions including improvement in services. Operators are asked
\nto standardize services, crack down on undisciplined drivers and
\nto stick to bus routes.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) Azas Tigor
\nNainggolan said the increase would further burden Jakarta
\nresidents as it would also increase the prices of other goods.<\/p>\n
\"We're concerned about a domino effect which will spark an
\nincrease in other prices,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Other objections came from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation
\n(YLKI), the Jakarta Water Consumers Aspiration Group, and the
\nCommunity Association for Humanity and Justice (Humanika).<\/p>",
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