Bus companies promise not to jack-up fares

JAKARTA (JP): Public bus operators in the capital have vowed to obey the government's instruction not to hike rates following a planned 12 percent increase in the price of gasoline nationwide from Oct. 1, according to chairman of the Jakarta Chapter of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda).

"We have no more hope of hiking the rates, as the central government has prohibited us from doing so. But let the people make their own judgment," Aip Sjarifuddin told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He admitted that the planned fuel price hike would be a heavy burden on transport firms, not because of the 12 percent increase but the skyrocketing cost of other services and goods, including auto spare parts.

"We were once promised subsidized fuel. We were involved in a team, and there was a decree issued. All the regional chapters were there. But the planned subsidy was suddenly canceled. That's it," Aip said.

He said bus operators in the capital could do nothing in the meantime to deal with the government's plan to hike the price of fuel.

"One thing is for sure: our service will suffer. Our buses will be poorly maintained and the service will be so poor," Aip said.

Next month's hike, which was delayed in April due to public objection, is one of the commitments that the government has made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in return for a massive bailout loan.

Under the plan, which was approved by the House of Representatives in February, the price of premium gasoline will increase to Rp 1,150 from Rp 1,000 per liter, diesel to Rp 600 from Rp 550, kerosene to Rp 350 from Rp 280 and bunker oil to Rp 400 from Rp 350.

Millions of pedestrians commute to work every day on some 5,411 regular buses and minibuses, and 12,764 minivans, which consume thousands of liters of diesel per day.

Last Friday, President Abdurrahman Wahid asked people to be ready for the fuel hike to help speed up the recovery of the country's economy.

"The general public just has to be ready, because this was a collective decision and many economics experts advised me to go ahead with the fuel hike by cutting the fuel subsidy," Abdurrahman told a congregation after Friday prayers at Baiturrahim Mosque in the presidential palace compound in Central Jakarta.

The government is currently spending huge sums on subsidizing fuel. The benefits are felt mostly by the wealthy, who own vehicles, and industrialists with factories, rather than the poor.

To cushion the impact on the poor, the government is preparing direct cash handouts from a fund of Rp 800 billion allocated for the purpose.

But many Jakarta residents have already expressed their doubts on the initial expectation of the plan, worrying that the hike will only trigger an increase in the price of goods and services here. (dja/bsr)