City Hall to study higher bus fare idea

City Hall to study higher bus fare idea

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will carefully study a proposal from the Organization of Land Transportation Businessmen that city bus fares be raised.

Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs Tb. M. Rais told reporters yesterday that the city administration would consider the proposal carefully before making a decision.

"The city administration understands why the organization proposed the fare hike and we will be studying it carefully," Rais said.

The chairman of the transport business organization, Aip Sjaifuddin, told reporters on Wednesday that the organization intended to propose a fare increase to Governor Surjadi Soedirdja.

He said the fare on regular buses should be increased from Rp 250 (11 U.S. cents) to Rp 500, on Patas buses (quick, limited service) from Rp 550 to Rp 900 and on air conditioned buses from Rp 1,300 to Rp 1,750.

Aip said transportation companies needed the rise because the current fare did not cover their operating costs.

Rais said the city administration rejected a proposal to hike the fare last year because there were some internal problems in transport companies, such as PT Metro Mini.

"It was also because of the poor service offered by public transportation companies to passengers", he added, referring to the many traffic accidents involving public buses.

Rais urged bus companies to improve their services so that people would not object to a fare increase.

He said the city administration had planned to increase the number of public buses in order to meet public transport needs in the city.

The municipal administration was planning to add a total of 1,000 new buses to city routes, he said.(yns)