Govt guarantees regular bus fares won't rise

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)