Bus operators told not to raise fares, yet
Bus operators told not to raise fares, yet
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration asked bus operators in the city not to
raise their fares unilaterally as it had submitted its fare
increase proposal to the city council for approval on Tuesday.
According to the proposal, which was signed by city Governor
Sutiyoso, the fares will be increased by 14 percent to 67 percent
following the recent fuel price hike.
It said the fares for regular buses would be increased from Rp
700 to Rp 1,000, for limited-stop and express (Patas) buses from
Rp 900 to Rp 1,200, medium-size buses from Rp 900 to Rp 1,100,
public minivans from Rp 1,400 to Rp 1,600, and for students from
Rp 300 to Rp 500.
It does not mention the fares for air-conditioned buses, which
are currently set at Rp 3,300.
The City Council, which earlier questioned the increase, will
likely accept the administration's proposal without debating it
further.
"We are aware that the commission discussed it on Monday.
Maybe tomorrow we will hold a leaders' meeting to approve the
proposal," said chairman of council commission D for development
affairs Sayogo Hendrosubroto.
Sayogo, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan), said earlier that the proposed increase was higher
than that of the fuel price hike, which was an average of 14
percent.
He considered that the administration had also weighted the
price increase of spare parts too highly in determining the new
bus fares.
The councillor also rejected the fare increase for students as
most of them were from ordinary families.
During a hearing with the commission on Monday, chairman of
the city chapter of the Organization of Land Transportation
Owners (Organda) Aip Syaifuddin threatened that the bus companies
would announce their new fares on May 18 if the city failed to
increase the fares.
However, city transportation agency chief Rustam Effendy
considered that the companies were just bluffing in order to push
their demand.
He promised to deal severely with bus operators who put up
their fares before the administration had officially announced
the increase.
He revealed that, thus far, the agency had suspended the
operating licenses of 45 buses from various bus companies that
were found to have increased their fares.