House agrees 25% hike in fares during Idul Fitri
House agrees 25% hike in fares during Idul Fitri
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators have agreed to the government's
proposal to increase bus fares by 25 percent during the Idul
Fitri holiday.
They also agreed to allow public transportation vehicles to
carry 10 percent more passengers than their seating capacity.
Members of the House of Representatives' Commission V, which
oversees transportation, tourism, communications and public
works, reached the agreement during a consultative meeting with
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto yesterday morning.
Director General of Land Transportation Soejono proposed the
25 percent hike on Thursday, insisting it was needed to offset
the losses incurred when buses returned empty after carrying
people out of major cities.
He said the fair increase would also help guarantee passengers
a more comfortable trip and prevent fares from getting out of
control.
The rise would also give security officials better grounds to
take legal action against violators, he said.
The special fares will be imposed from 6 a.m. on Feb. 13 until
6 a.m. on March 2, and will be based on current bus fares.
The 10 percent passenger increase will be calculated by the
number of seats available.
Golkar legislator Achmadi asked the government to make sure
the 10 percent allowance would not require passengers to stand up
during the trip, especially on long hauls. He did not mention how
this was possible given his recommended increase.
Soejono estimated the number of bus passengers would increase
between 5 and 15 percent, requiring his office to provide an
additional 1,000 buses.
The buses, he said, would be provided by the state-owned PPD
and Damri bus companies and the private Mayasari Bhakti firm. A
total of 48,876 buses, with a capacity of 4.9 million passengers,
will operate in the country during the holidays.
Starting on Feb. 16 and ending on Feb. 20, East-bound private
vehicles and cargo trucks traveling on Java's northern highways
will be required to take alternative routes.
Special regulations will also be imposed on heavy vehicles,
including container trucks and trailers. Vehicles carrying
important import or export goods or carrying cattle and milk will
be allowed through.
Haryanto told the legislators that there would be no
additional fee imposed on the heavy vehicles. He advised
exporters and importers to register for a permit to operate
between 6 a.m. on Feb. 16 and 6 a.m. on Feb. 20.
According to Soejono, train passengers were also expected to
increase by 10 percent. The government will provide an additional
18 coaches to increase passenger capacity by 150 percent.
Director General of Sea Transportation Soentoro on Thursday
also informed that state-owned PT Pelni and a number of private
firms will provide 16 additional vessels for the holidays,
increasing capacity by almost 24,000 passengers.
Some 34 vessels serving remote routes with a capacity of 4,400
passengers will also be added.
Director General of Air Transportation Zainuddin Sikado said
his office would increase the number of flights during the
holidays.
"We will also lengthen the working hours at our airports,
especially at those expected to be busy during the holiday," he
said.
A total of 86,513 airline seats, an increase of 13 percent,
will be added to the regular capacity of 287,034 seats a week.
(pwn)