Greedy bus firms face punishment

Greedy bus firms face punishment

JAKARTA (JP): The government has said it will punish bus
owners who unlawfully raised their fares during the Idul Fitri
holidays.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto told
journalists yesterday that not a single recalcitrant bus company
would escape punishment.

Haryanto and his senior staff personally conducted unannounced
inspections at bus terminals and seaports one week before and one
week after the Idul Fitri holidays, which fell on March 3 and 4.

For this year's holiday season, the government allowed bus
owners to raise their fares by a maximum of 25 percent, but many
companies reportedly increased fares by more than 100 percent.

"The government will revoke the operating licenses of
companies if more than half of their total buses violated the
fare rules," Haryanto said.

He said he would summon non-complying bus owners to his office
to account for their decisions to raise fares higher to levels
higher than those allowed by the government.

The ministry has received numerous complaints from the public
about the sharp increase in the bus fares and his office is
studying them, the minister said.

He said he has yet to announce the number of bus companies to
be punished because his office was still receiving complaints
regarding pricing violations.

Despite the dramatic and unlawful price rises, the public as a
whole was satisfied with the way the government handled this
year's holiday transportation, he claimed.

Meanwhile, Antara reported yesterday that roads in Java were
still busy with holiday makers returning to major cities after
the holidays. (rms)