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.