Govt must erase levies prior to transportation tariff hike: YLKI
Govt must erase levies prior to transportation tariff hike: YLKI
JAKARTA (JP): New fares for sea and land transportation should
take effect only after the government manages to eradicate
illegal levies, an Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI)
executive said Thursday.
YLKI vice chairman Agus Pambagyo said illegal levies have so
far posed the heaviest burden on transportation operators.
"We are afraid that by raising the fares, the levies will also
go up," he told The Jakarta Post.
The levies range from terminal levies, where each vehicle has
to pay between Rp 1,000 and Rp 2,000, to levies for smoothing
matters during an accident, Agus said.
He said that if the illegal levies remain rampant, in the end
it is the public who will have to bear the burden without
receiving the benefits of improved safety and service expected to
follow the tariff hike.
Sadjarwo Soekardiman, the chairman of Commission IV in charge
of infrastructure and transportation, said the House had asked
for commitment from the police to control the illegal levies.
"It may take a while, but with serious commitment from police
and city land transportation agencies (DLLAJR), illegal levies
could eventually be erased," he said.
The House of Representatives has agreed to the government
proposal for new fares on June 28, but the implementation would
depend on the government.
Minister of Communications Agum Gumelar said on Tuesday that
the new fares would take effect only if transportation operators
could prove they improved safety and service.
Sadjarwo said the House had set the maximum limit of the fare
increase for economy class.
Fares for intercity buses increases to Rp 39 a seat per
kilometer from Rp 28, ships to Rp 215 a passenger per mile from
Rp 133.4, ferries to Rp 178 a passenger per mile from Rp 116.67,
and trains to Rp 37.3 a seat per kilometer from Rp 21.68.
An economy fare for a train plying Surabaya and Jakarta, for
example, will cost Rp 21,000 from the previous Rp 13,000. Ferry
rides across the Sunda Strait from Merak, West Java to Bakauheni,
Lampung will cost Rp 2,800 from Rp 1,750.
Earlier, President Abdurrahman Wahid gave his approval to the
plan, but said it would take effect gradually when people's
buying power is restored. (10)