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)