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)