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)