Bus operators raise fares, but inconveniences persist

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Sumarni, 40, looked confused when she was informed by the bus operator at Pulogadung station that the bus heading to Pacitan city in East Java had departed at 9.30 a.m., half an hour before the scheduled time written on the tickets her husband bought several days before.

Sumarni's husband, Saiman, was angry when the bus operator blamed him for the incident, saying that it was not his mistake the bus left his family behind because it departed before the scheduled time.

The four-member family, who live in East Bekasi, West Java, wanted to celebrate Idul Fitri in their hometown.

Saiman bought the tickets several days before the departure to avoid facing the hardships of the annual exodus ahead of the D- day on Dec. 6, the first day of Idul Fitri celebrations. They knew tickets were hard to buy ahead of the celebrations.

An officer of bus operator PO. Langsung Jaya said the bus departed as all seats had been filled. He said all passengers had been advised to come to station an hour earlier than the scheduled time.

Although the family finally, after intervention by the Indonesian Consumers Organization (YLKI) and city transportation officers, could go without paying more to the bus operator, they still had to wait inconveniently for three hours at the station.

The incident was only one of many cases of bad service by bus operators for holiday makers, particularly during the annual exodus when more than two million people will leave the city for their hometowns throughout Indonesia.

Contrary to the Saiman's experience, many other holiday makers waited for hours as their buses came late to the Pulogadung station. The bus operators claimed that there was serious traffic congestion on the roads heading to the station.

On Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan heading from Cempaka Putih in Central Jakarta to Pulogadung in East Jakarta the vehicles queued bumper to bumper for three kilometers as they crawled towards the station.

Pujianto who wanted to go to Surabaya with his wife and three children were forced to wait an extra two hours.

"I should have gone at 1.00 p.m., now it's nearly 03.00 p.m., but the bus has not come yet," said Pujianto, a resident of Cililitan in East Jakarta.

Meanwhile, violations of the maximum fare limits continued on Monday at nearly all bus stations in the city. City Transportation Agency head Rustam Effendi said at least 12 bus operators had violated the maximum price.

Violations of the maximum fare had begun seven days before Idul Fitri. Many bus operators increased fares up to 100 percent.

"The fare increase is uncontrollable. It seems that the threat of sanction against bus operators has failed to deter them," said Sularsi, a YLKI officer, who was monitoring prices at Pulogadung.

Many travelers were reluctant to report the fare increase to the office of the bus station head as they feared that it could disrupt their holiday plans.

"If I protest could you guarantee that I can still go now," said a holiday maker heading to Surabaya when a transportation agency official asked him to meet with the bus operator.

Problems of transportation during the Idul Fitri exodus are repeated annually as the sanctions against the vehicle and bus operator are weak.

As an example, an operator that sets tariffs 150 percent higher than the government's ceiling price will have its operating license suspended for five weeks.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Said, a staff member at the transportation ministry on duty in Pulogadung, said the number of travelers was double normal days.

The government has stated that all the passengers can depart as more than 6,000 extra-buses had allocated to deal with the exodus.