City transportation fares to go up

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Land Transportation Owners Association Jakarta branch (Organda DKI) is giving the city administration one week to raise public transport fares after the government hiked fuel prices.

It also said that it would go on massive strike should the city administration fail to meet its demand on schedule.

"We won't be able to shoulder ballooning costs due to the fuel price hike since our business is still in the doldrums. We will start a strike if the administration cannot decide on the fare hike within a week," chairman Herry Rotty said at the sidelines of the association's meeting at Gran Menteng Hotel in Central Jakarta.

The increase would be the second for Jakarta residents after the administration decided on March 9 to raise transportation fares by between 9 and 19 percent following the government's decision to hike fuel prices by an average of 29 percent.

In the March fuel price increase, the city administration took at least two weeks to decide on the new public transport fares.

Herry said that his association would lodge the proposed fare increases to the City Transportation Agency on Monday next week.

Fuel accounted for 20 percent of the total costs for public transport operators, he said.

Organda DKI is proposing increases of between Rp 627 for regular buses and Rp 867 for non-economy class buses should fuel prices go up by 100 percent.

The fares of regular buses officially stand at Rp 1,200, while business class buses Rp 3,300. Many bus crews, however, ask passengers to pay higher, arguing that the total operating costs were higher than the fares determined by the administration.

Meanwhile, head of the association's division for public minivans, Safruhan Sinungan said operators would increase fares to Rp 2,500 from Rp 2,000 to weather the fuel price hikes.

"With heavy traffic jams throughout the city, running a public transport business is simply a high-cost enterprise. We spend lots of money to purchase lubricants, brakes, tires and clutches to allow our vehicles to travel along the city's tough streets," he said.

Organda DKI also urged the administration to scrap several vehicular taxes imposed on public transportation vehicles, such as the public transportation tax, terminal tax and roadworthiness test tax, in order to help reduce the burdens on transportation operators.

"We want the administration to treat us fairly, like it treats the TransJakarta busway buses that enjoys various facilities from the administration in addition to the subsidy scheme for busway passengers," Herry said, adding that each passenger was now subsidized Rp 496 a trip.

Chairman of City Council Commission D overseeing transportation and development affairs, Sayogo Hendrosoebroto lent support to Organda's request, promising that his commission would propose scrapping vehicular taxes for public transportation operators.

Responding to Organda's request, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said that his administration would study the issue thoroughly.

"We will ask the City Transportation Council to give us input on the issue," he said.

The council is manned by scholars, consumer protection foundations, representatives of public transport firms, businesspeople, traffic police and the City Transportation Agency.