Fair fares
In less than a week, the authorities sent two conflicting messages regarding Jakarta's bus fares. First, Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said the current lowest fare of Rp 300 (12 U.S. cents) was too low, prompting speculation that fares would soon be hiked. Bus companies, many of whom are struggling to survive, were quick to propose that the minimum fare should be set at Rp 500. The Indonesian Consumer Organization led the campaign in opposing any increase, saying that through better management, bus companies could improve their profit margins without having to raise prices. Others reminded the government of Golkar's election promise that it would not harm the interests of the people, and increasing bus fares would contradict that.
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto had the last word. On Thursday he ruled out any increase in bus fares until after the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) meeting in March. His concern was not whether the current fares were too low or whether the public could afford to pay the increase. His concern was for a smooth and successful MPR meeting, a crucial time of national importance when the president and vice president are elected, and the government's policy guidelines for the next five years are drawn up. The decision was politically, rather than economically, motivated.
Understandably, this is a potentially explosive political issue. We are reminded of Ujungpandang, capital of South Sulawesi, which was the scene of an ugly riot last year when university students took to the streets to protest the local government's decision to raise fares. One cannot not rule out a similarly violent reaction in Jakarta, especially ahead of the MPR meeting, if fares were increased now. The last thing the nation wants in the run-up to the MPR meeting is trouble in the capital.
What is unfortunate is that the issue was not explored thoroughly: whether Rp 300 was really too low to sustain private bus operators, whether Jakartans really cannot afford the fare increases, as consumers groups suggested, and a host of other questions.
What we know is that the transportation system in Jakarta, of which the public transportation is an important part, is close to breaking down. Buses seem to get dirtier, more crowded and slower by the day. This is happening as more and more people are opting to drive their own cars, which in turn worsens the congestion on roads, which in turn slows the bus even further, which in turn encourages more people to drive their own cars. There is no immediate end in sight to this vicious cycle. Some operators, in defiance of the rules, even tried to stop running buses in the lowest fare category because they were no longer commercially viable.
As long as the city continues to rely on private operators, bus fares must be structured in a way that makes running buses commercially viable. Rp 300, as the Jakarta governor himself has admitted, is too low. Besides, with Jakartans becoming more affluent, their main concern is no longer cheap fares. More and more people are demanding convenience and efficiency, besides affordability. The current public transportation system in Jakarta only offers affordability. This underlies the reason why many people prefer to drive their own cars, in spite of the traffic jams and parking difficulties.
Raising bus fares may not solve Jakarta's transportation woes overnight, but it would be a good start. At some stage, a balance between price and convenience must be found. The long term solution of course is a mass rapid transit (MRT) system, something which the city has agreed to build. But construction has yet to start, in spite of the urgency. Given the huge investment it requires, any such system would not come cheaply. This means, sooner or later therefore, the public will have to fork out more money to pay for public transportation that promises to be efficient.