50% of city bus, minibus fleets 'off the streets'
JAKARTA (JP): About 50 percent of the city's more than 10,000 buses and minibuses cannot operate on the streets due to the impact of the current monetary crisis, a City Land Transportation Agency official said yesterday.
The official, who asked for anonymity, said that many bus owners could no longer afford to buy spare parts for the vehicles' repair and maintenance as prices had surged by up to 500 percent.
"If the crisis persists, it is estimated that only about 10 percent of the total fleet will be capable of surviving," said the official.
Official data showed that last year there were 5,002 buses and 4,911 minibuses operating in Jakarta.
The head of the Jakarta Public Transportations Cooperatives (Kopaja), CH. Soenarto, said that of about 1,500 Kopaja minibuses, only 900 were still operating, on 36 routes.
"Minibus owners are being forced to suspend their fleets because they cannot afford the maintenance costs," said Soenarto.
The decline in the number of operating minibuses almost mirrored the drop in the number of passengers, estimated at around 30 percent, he said.
Soenarto said that Kopaja's revenues had dropped 60 percent because of the smaller number of minibuses operating.
"If there is no improvement, I mean like a drop in spare parts prices and an increase in tariffs, Kopaja will soon be history," he said.
He said Kopaja operators had estimated that they could only survive until July. "After that, it will take nothing but a miracle for us to continue," he said.
The chairman of the city branch of the Association of Public Transportation Owners (Organda), Aip Sjarifuddin, said yesterday that public transportation fares would soon be increased to help public transportation companies survive.
"The proposed new tariffs will likely be unveiled after the government's announcement on the increase of gasoline prices," Aip said after inaugurating a two-day discounted sale of spare bus parts, lubricants and food commodities at the Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, bus terminal.
Organda will hold a similar sale at three other bus terminals: Kampung Rambutan and Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta and Kalideres in West Jakarta.
The spare parts were only offered to public transportation drivers or owners, Aip said. The parts were sold at 30 percent less than the regular market prices, he added.
Aip refused to say whether the fare increases would be less or more than 50 percent of current prices. Kopaja and regular bus tariffs, for example, are currently Rp 400 (5 U.S. cents) and Rp 300 per passenger per ride respectively.
Soenarto said the ideal average tariff from the public transportation owners' point of view was Rp 1,500, slightly higher than the operating cost of Rp 1,144 per passenger.
"But I know that people will say that that's far too expensive for them. So, I'd say that for Kopaja, the tariff should be raised to Rp 750. How's that?" he said.
The chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation, Tini Hadad, told The Jakarta Post that she could understand Organda's strong desire to raise tariffs.
But she strongly urged that the student tariff of Rp 100 not be raised and that public transportation services be improved in line with fare increases for nonstudent passengers.
"The existing buses must give a much better service, for example, by not dropping passengers far from the destination terminals like they frequently do now.
She also demanded that Organda involve the City Council in determining the new prices. (cst)