Higher fares again

The decision announced by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso Thursday to raise taxi and PATAS air-conditioned bus fares in the city is logical and unavoidable following the recent increase in fuel prices. It was also the logical step to take after regular bus and minibus fares were increased Monday as a consequence of the fuel price hike and other fare rises. In other words, it was a step that everyone must have seen coming given the government's commitment to carry through the economic reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund. Nevertheless, the decision is certain to add to the people's existing difficulties and thus give further reason for discontent.

While as far as the public is concerned the new fares represent quite a substantial increase -- around 50 percent or more -- over the old, they don't help public transportation company operators to adequately cover their regular maintenance costs and overheads.

Clearly, dissatisfaction on both sides of the equation is difficult to avoid. While Jakarta's citizens are already anxiously calculating the coming inescapable rise in their personal monthly traveling and commuting expenses, taxi operators are expecting a slump, which they expect to last for as long as it takes for passengers to get over the initial shock of having to pay the considerably higher new fares. And not without reason. Taxi operators depend mostly on passengers from the middle- and lower-middle income groups for their income. For these people, the city's better bus services provide a cheaper if less comfortable means of transportation.

Though bus operators may consider themselves more fortunate in that there are practically no cheaper public transportation alternatives for people in the city, students may on occasion find it difficult to find transportation to and from school as bus and minibus drivers may refuse to take them despite official threats that their operating licenses could be suspended if they refuse. Many bus operators complain that the officially authorized student fare of Rp 100 (1.1 U.S. cents) is much too low and should be at least twice as high.

In crisis conditions such as the present, it is certainly not easy for operators and city officials to come up with a solution that satisfies all, particularly the transportation companies and the commuting public. Certainly bus and taxi companies cannot be expected to operate at a loss on a continual basis and still survive. The best that people can do for the present is to allocate their expenses with care and wait for the inevitable economic equilibrium to re-establish itself.

The widespread objections to the fare hikes are certainly understandable in current conditions. The economic and monetary crises are making it difficult enough for people to make ends meet even without the fuel and fare hikes. Under present circumstances, however, we don't quite see how the government can extricate itself from its commitment to gradually eliminate burdensome subsidies, which must unfortunately lead to price increases in many areas.

With persistence, however, conditions are sure to improve. The question is whether people will or can have the patience to wait for months, or even years, for things to start looking up. The one thing we all can do to make life easier, however, is to avoid any unnecessary actions that can aggravate the situation and make life's burdens even heavier, especially for the less privileged among us.