House approves temporary 25% bus fare hike

JAKARTA (JP): The government will allow bus operators to increase bus fares by 25 percent for seven days prior to Idul Fitri and 10 days after the holiday, which falls on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto told reporters after meeting with President Soeharto yesterday that the House of Representatives had approved the increase.

"I have approached the House, which in principle approves of the decision," Haryanto said, without mentioning when he met with House members.

The fare increase came at the request of the Association of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), whose Jakarta branch had been asking for a 50 percent increase.

Aip Syarifuddin, chairman of the Jakarta branch, said making the increase official would help prevent bus operators (drivers, conductors and their assistants) from raising their fares illegally.

However, the fare was not welcomed by everyone, including the City Council, which originally rejected the request.

Council member Hasan Daisy of the United Development Party (PPP) faction said the fare hike would only burden travelers.

"A 50% increase will strangle the poor and those who cannot afford a sudden hike," Hasan argued.

Lukman F. Mokoginta, from the council's Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction, concurred, saying that Organda could not guarantee that bus operators would not increase fares own their own.

Haryanto said yesterday that the philosophy behind increasing the fares is to support bus operators because most buses heading back from West, Central and East Java to Jakarta after Idul Fitri will be empty.

"Organda (the central office) agrees with the 25 percent increase," he said.

When asked to predict the traffic situation before and during the Idul Fitri holidays, Haryanto said that the northern route would be packed. "The number of vehicles could reach 150,000 per day," he said.

The northern route, locally known as Pantura, goes along the north coast from Jakarta to other towns in West, Central and East Java.

Traffic would be heavy, he said, but not complete congestion. "Where it is normal to go at 60 or 80 kilometers per hour, cars will probably only be able to move at 10 kilometers per hour," he said.

Haryanto reminded drivers about the number of fatal accidents in 1996, saying that 13,697 traffic accidents were recorded around the nation during last year's Ramadhan and Idul Fitri festivities. The accidents officially claimed 9,747 lives, while 8,083 were hospitalized for serious injuries. (sur)