Bus operators raise fares, but inconveniences persist

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.