Drivers raise fare before official increase

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many bus drivers increased their fares on Saturday although the bus companies have yet to make a formal announcement on the new fares, following the city administration's decision on them.

A driver, Sahat Simanjuntak, of a limited-passenger Steady Safe bus serving the Blok M, South Jakarta, to Senen, Central Jakarta, route said that he had heard a statement made by City Governor Sutiyoso that the Patas (express, seated-only bus) fare would be increased from Rp 900 to Rp 1,200.

"Probably, the fare will officially be increased on Monday. My company's office is closed today," Sahat told The Jakarta Post last Saturday.

However, he admitted that he had increased the fare to Rp 1,000 following the fuel price hike earlier this month.

He hoped that the fares increase would not cause the daily rental fee to rise; it is at present Rp 350,000 per bus for about 18 hours from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

"Usually I can take home daily about Rp 75,000," he said.

Separately, Suhana, a driver, of a regular PPD 916 bus serving the Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, to Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, route, said the fare was increased on Saturday from Rp 700 to Rp 900, in accordance with Sutiyoso's decision.

Three pieces of paper containing the new fares were fixed to the windows of his bus.

He revealed the daily rental fee was also going up from Rp 300,000 to Rp 400,000 per bus.

"The fares increase has not increased our income much," he claimed. After deducting his daily operating costs, which included fuel and food, he usually took home Rp 50,000 to Rp 75,000 per day.

The drivers have to bear the cost of fuel while the bus owners have to pay for spare parts, including tires.

Medium-sized buses (Metrominis and Kopajas) raised their fares to Rp 1,000 last month, before the administration's decision, without making any prior announcement.

But the drivers of public minivans have not yet put their fares up. They said that the new fares would probably be decided by the minivan cooperative on Monday.

Most minivan and bus drivers here increased their fares by Rp 100 after the fuel price increase recently, but they accepted it if their passengers still paid the old fares.

"Most passengers have accepted the new fares, although some of them still grumble. But some insist on paying the old fares."

"What can we do? The fares have been decided by the government," said Sari, an employee at a department store at Slipi Jaya Plaza, West Jakarta.

Sutiyoso announced on Friday that the fares for regular buses were increased from Rp 700 to Rp 900, for Patas buses from Rp 900 to Rp 1,200, for medium-sized buses from Rp 900 to Rp 1,000 and for minivans from Rp 1,400 to Rp1,600. Fares for students were increased from Rp 300 to Rp 500.

The city administration decided to increase bus fares in order to avert a strike threatened by the city chapter of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) if the government failed to raise fares by Saturday.

The new fares were determined by taking into account a proposal from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) and a suggestion from the City Land Transportation Agency.