House approves temporary 25% bus fare hike

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)