Consumer group decries hikes in freeway tolls

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumers' Foundation (YLKI) decried yesterday the latest increases in the city's toll road charges, of between 13 percent and 25 percent, saying the move runs counter to the government's avowed objective of promoting greater equity.

YLKI chairwoman Zoemrotin K. said the increase, which was announced on Sunday night, will further widen the gap between rich and poor.

In a statement made available to The Jakarta Post, Zoemrotin said the foundation is particularly concerned about talk that there are soon to be increases in public transport fares.

The Directorate General of Land Transportation recently endorsed the 130 percent increase in bus fares sought by the Land Transportation Owners' Organization.

The state-owned toll road company, PT Jasa Marga, announced yesterday that charges for the Tomang-Cawang-Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur toll road will be raised by between 13% and 25% commencing on Wednesday.

The tolls were increased by Presidential Decree No. 72/1995, which was announced on Sunday night just prior to President Soeharto's departure on an 18-day overseas trip.

The new fee for small vehicles, such as jeeps, sedans, pickups, small trucks and medium-sized buses (Class I), is Rp 2,500. The old toll was Rp 2,000. The fee for large vehicles (Class IIA) is Rp 3,500, up Rp 500, while the new toll for very large (Class IIB) vehicles is Rp 4,500.

A 20 percent discount for purchasers of monthly tickets will continue to apply.

Zoemrotin warned that the increase in road tolls and bus fares would be a heavy burden for the public. "Things will become dangerous for national stability if the public can no longer bear their burden," she said.

"YLKI studies have found that 60 percent of the salaries of a lower-level civil servants are spent on transportation. The government should be aware of this," Zoemrotin said.

The YLKI is also appealing to the government to reject the proposed increases in bus fares. "The YLKI also demands that the minimum wages for workers be increased," Zoemrotin said in the statement.

Zoemrotin said that the fee structures for urban toll roads should be based on the distance traveled by a motorist, rather than the current flat rate.

The last time road tolls were increased was in July 1992, in an increase of between 20 and 50 percent. Since then, Indonesia has seen almost 30 percent cumulative inflation.

Jasa Marga President Maryadi Darmokumoro said yesterday that tomorrow's increase takes into account the fact that the length of the toll road has been expanded with the inclusion of a new 6.4-kilometer segment from Tanjung Priok to Ancol Timur.

"So this is like setting a new tariff for the Tomang-Cawang- Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur toll road segment, rather than an increase in the toll road tariff," Maryadi said.

PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada, the company which built the Cawang to Tanjung Priok segment, recently proposed an increase of between 25 percent and 50 percent in tolls, in order to speed up its repayment of the loans used to build the toll road.

Citra Marga collects three quarters of the toll revenues, while the remaining quarter goes to Jasa Marga. (sur/31)

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