Councilors oppose planned bus tariff hike
Councilors oppose planned bus tariff hike
JAKARTA (JP): City councilors have strongly opposed a Ministry
of Communications plan to double the tariff rate on city buses in
the capital.
Head of the City Council's Commission D for development
affairs, which covers bus tariffs, Ali Wongso Sinaga said on
Monday the proposal was "irrational".
"I've repeatedly said that raising the tariff during the
economic crisis is irrational," the councilor said.
Over the weekend, the ministry revealed that the office
planned to hike the tariff for regular buses in Jakarta from Rp
300 per passenger to Rp 900, non-airconditioned express and
limited (PATAS) buses from Rp 700 to Rp 1,350, minibuses from Rp
500 to Rp 1,150, and mikrolet (minivans) from Rp 800 to Rp 1,350.
Minister of Communications Giri Suseno Hadihardjono said he
was concerned city commuters would witness a serious drop in the
number of operational buses, as bus owners would no longer
operate their fleet due to the skyrocketing price of vehicle
spare parts and new buses as well as the declining number of
passengers.
"Based on whatever calculation, the Rp 300 tariff imposed on a
passenger won't be able to make the transportation companies
survive. The businessmen will go bankrupt," the minister told
Kompas on Friday.
When the city suffered a serious decline in public bus
numbers, in theory the government should have been able to combat
the problem by deploying new buses.
"But under the current situation, the government has no
capability to do that," Giri said.
The plan was publicly disclosed only after an executive of the
ministry held a meeting with Deputy Governor for Economic and
Financial Affairs Fauzie Alvi Yasin and city bus operators on
Wednesday.
According to businessmen who attended the meeting, the
ministry plans to increase the bus tariff beginning late this
month and further hike the rate in stages during the year.
The tariff for the regular buses, for instance, would be set
at Rp 900 per passenger at the end of the year after being hiked
to Rp 600 later this month, some of the bus operators said.
Councilor Sinaga acknowledged that he and his fellow
colleagues could fully understand the ministry's fear.
"But, there must be a way out which won't affect the public in
general," he said.
His commission therefore suggested either the central
government, or the city administration, provide subsidies to bus
owners in an effort to reduce the burden on the public.
Sinaga added that Governor Sutiyoso's administration had
already agreed to subsidize the bus tariff, although it was yet
to announce the exact figures or mechanism of assistance.
Fauzie suggested the subsidy could also be in the form of tax
or levy reductions, or by granting cheap credit to bus operators.
Separately on Monday, city secretary Fauzi Bowo said the
administration was taking seriously the proposal submitted by the
ministry.
But he was insistent his office had yet to make any decision
regarding the plan.
"This proposal is important. Bus companies are not only
suffering because of the escalating prices of spare parts, there
are also fewer passengers, since many people have lost their jobs
due to the ongoing crisis," Fauzi said at City Hall.
Fauzi said the plan, and in particular the calculation of the
figures, would be jointly discussed shortly by, among others, the
administration, the City Land Transportation Agency and the
Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda).
As reported earlier, data from Organda revealed that of 21,987
buses here, only 70 percent, or 15,390 vehicles, have been
operating since the economic crisis hit the country in July 1997.
(ind/ylt/bsr)