Govt guarantees regular bus fares won't rise

JAKARTA (JP): The government promised again yesterday not to raise public bus fares before the general assembly next year and to penalize bus operators that fail to provide regular buses.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said yesterday the government had rejected a call from bus operators for fare increases.

"It will depend on the new minister of transportation in the next cabinet, not me, whether or not fares are increased. I also support Governor Surjadi Soedirdja's decision to suspend the licenses of bus operators that fail to operate the appropriate number of regular buses."

The minister's comments came in response to an unofficial request from the chairman of the Association of Public Transportation Owners' (Organda) city branch, Aip Syarifuddin, for regular bus fares to be raised to Rp 500 (20 U.S. cents) from the current Rp 300 fare.

Aip said the increase would help the association's members cover their operational and maintenance expenses.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said at a clean air seminar yesterday the administration could not simply allow the request.

"We will have to examine it, because businessmen are usually profit-oriented," he said.

He said bus companies had failed to keep their promise to give better service to the public. Now their association was asking for fare increases and promising again to improve service. Surjadi said he was worried the association would not to keep its word.

"It's difficult to consider the proposal without seeing an improvement in the service," Surjadi said.

He said the city would continue to punish bus misbehaving companies by temporarily revoking their permits.

Himpurna

All 100 Himpurna Cooperative buses were banned from operating last Tuesday until March 30.

The City's Land Transportation Agency spokesperson J.P. Sepang, said Tuesday the agency was forced to temporarily revoke Himpurna's permits because its management had breached regulations by converting regular, Rp 300-fare buses into Rp 700 non-AC limited passenger buses. At least 10 other firms also face sanctions, he said.

Himpurna had never operated a single one of its 30 regular buses along its 10 routes, Sepang said. The buses plied the Pulo Gadung-Kali Deres routes.

This was discovered when the agency investigated reports that regular busses were vanishing from regular routes. Its findings showed that most Rp 300 regular buses had disappeared. Only 439 of the 1,679 regular buses that should have been operating in the city were operating, he said.

The Himpurna Cooperative was formerly owned just by army pensioners but is now jointly managed with Mayasari Bakti.

A 1996 rule says bus owners must operate 40 air-conditioned limited passenger buses and 30 regular buses to every 30 non-AC limited passenger buses.

The fare for AC-bus is Rp 1,800, non-AC bus Rp 700 and regular bus Rp 300.

Both Haryanto and Aip want the 40:30:30 ratio changed. The minister said he wanted a 30:40:30 ratio for the state-owned PPD, while Aip wanted 40:40:20 for Organda members.

PPD now operates only 207 of their 535 Rp 300-fare buses.

Haryanto said PPD would soon sign a joint-operation agreement with a private firm to provide new 1,000 buses.

He refused to name the private firm or say when the new buses would start running.

PPD's president Dwi Wahyono Sjamhudi, said his company currently owned about 1,800 buses, but only 800 were operable and the others were idle.

"That's why PPD has failed to provide regular buses on certain routes," he said.

According to the City's Land Transportation Agency, PT Mayasari Bakti operates only 176 of its 287 regular buses; and PT Ikawali Pusaka operates eight out of its 15 buses.

PT Steady Safe Arion operates only 33 of its 56 Rp 300-fare buses; PT Bianglala Metro operates six out of 50 and PT Giri Indah operates none of its 15 regular buses.

The A.R.H Cooperative does not operate any of its five regular buses and PT Aja Putra operates only nine of 15 buses. (ste/icn)