AC bus fares to be increased to Rp 1,800

JAKARTA (JP): The fare for air-conditioned city buses is likely to be increased to Rp 1,800 (78 US cents) from the current level of Rp 1,300 per person.

A reliable source at the city administration, who refused to be named, said yesterday that the city land traffic control agency, the Jakarta office of the Transportation Ministry as well as the land transport owners association (Organda) have agreed to the new fare.

However, the source said that the governor had yet to approve this.

The head of the transportation office, Karim Tjokroprawiro, said that the team planned to propose the new fare to the governor next Monday.

The fare for air-conditioned buses was not included in the fare package announced by the minister of transportation last month.

The new fare package included fares for regular buses, minibuses and non-AC Patas (express) buses only.

On a separate interview, a city councilor has asked the city administration to convert the Patas buses into regular buses.

Saud Rahman of the Commission D on development said yesterday that non-AC Patas and regular buses are practically the same.

With Rp 700 paid per person, Patas bus passengers should deserve better service than those using regular buses for Rp 300, he said.

"People should not be jostled and shoved in Patas buses. But in practice, Patas buses are just like regular buses, with no limit to the number of passengers," Saud said.

Patas is an acronym for cepat (quick) and terbatas (limited).

Owners of regular buses have long preferred turning regular buses into Patas buses. With Rp 700 collected per passenger, they can make far more money that way, he noted.

Karim concurred, saying that he also supported the idea of eliminating non-AC Patas buses.

Two types of public bus, regular and air-conditioned, would be enough, he said.

Karim said that Patas buses may officially only take as many passengers as there are seats available, except during peak hours, when they may take up to 10 standing passengers.

This regulation is however ignored as a matter of course, as are so many others.

Karim also supported reducing the number of seats in buses so that passengers who do not get a seat can stand in less acute discomfort. (yns/sur)