Bus drivers, commuters fall victim to rate dilemma

Bus drivers, commuters fall victim to rate dilemma

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Abbas, a driver of a Mayasari Bakti air-conditioned bus on the
route between Pulogadung and Kalideres bus terminals, along with
his two conductors, were vigilant on Thursday making sure not to
miss a single passenger.

"We need to do this to raise our income as the bus operator
had raised the rental fee to Rp 1.85 million (US$207) per day
from Rp 1.35 million earlier this month due to the fuel price
increases. And there is nothing we can do about it," he told The
Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Abbas said that bus drivers on the same route had dropped
their initial plan to stage a strike against the Mayasari Bakti
management on Wednesday and Thursday because they had come up
with better ways to deal with the rental fee increase.

First, he explained, the drivers made a timetable between
themselves so none of them would go on four trips in the day with
most of the 56 passengers seats empty. "That way we can make sure
that each of us will get enough passengers for every trip," he
said.

The other way is to surreptitiously increase the bus fares.
The usual bus fare for an air-conditioned city bus is Rp 3,300.
But now, if a passenger pays Rp 5,000, the bus conductor would
only give Rp 1,500 in change and explain to the passenger that he
does not have small change.

"These days, I would be lucky if I could bring home Rp 20,000
after paying the rental fee to the operator. Most of the time I
have to pay them (bus operator) less and that means I'm in debt,"
Abbas claimed.

The government had increased fuel and utility prices earlier
this month, but it reviewed the unpopular decision on Monday
after weeks of nationwide protests.

The price of automotive diesel fuel was cut to Rp 1,650 per
liter from the previous price of Rp 1,890 per liter, while the
price of industrial diesel was reduced to Rp 1,650 from Rp 1,860.

However, the revised price of automotive diesel is still Rp
150 higher than the previous Rp 1,490 per liter. Besides the
minivan public transportation vehicles, all city minibuses and
buses run on diesel fuel.

On Thursday, none of the other bus operators at Pulogadung had
increased their rental fee, while Mayasari Bakti management could
not be reached for comment or to clarify whether the new rental
fee applied to buses serving other routes.

A senior official of the Jakarta chapter of the Organization
of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), La Ode Djeni Hasmar,
admitted that several bus operators had increased their rental
fees, an internal policy over which the association had no power
to intervene.

"It's a consequence of the fuel price increase. We had
repeatedly asked Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso to allow us to
increase bus fares but he said he had to wait for the central
government's decision," La Ode told the Post over the phone on
Thursday.

Separately, Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairwoman
Indah Suksmaningsih told the Post that she demanded Sutiyoso to
subsidize the bus fares if bus operators were allowed to increase
their fares.

"The bus fare dilemma makes passengers the victim of the
actions of the administration and the bus operators. In the
meantime, I invite bus passengers to immediately file a complaint
either with the Jakarta Transportation Agency or with us," she
told the Post.