40% of Bogor buses grounded

40% of Bogor buses grounded

BOGOR (JP): The skyrocketing prices of auto parts have forced
about 40 percent of the town's 2,400 public transportation
vehicles off the roads, an official said yesterday.

A. Chotib Malik, chairman of the local Land transportation
agency, said the number of grounded buses would likely increase
because the economic crisis showed no sign of abating.

Auto part prices have risen 300 percent over the past six
months, making public transportation a money-losing business for
many companies.

"The unusually expensive parts have slashed transport
companies' income so much that it is now barely enough to repay
their debts to the bank because they buy buses on credit," Chotib
told Antara.

He predicted that most transport companies in Bogor would go
bankrupt unless the situation improved in the next two months.

The parts price hike in Bogor is probably the highest in West
Java, he said. In Ciamis and Cirebon, for example, prices have
increased "only" 175 percent.

The unusually high rise, according to Chotib, had happened
because retailers wanted "too much profit". (pan)