Illegal levies cause high operation costs: Ritonga

JAKARTA (JP): City Council Speaker M.H. Ritonga says the police must put an end to their habit of soliciting "contributions" from the drivers of public transportation vehicles, whose operational costs are now skyrocketing as a result.

Ritonga, a former city police chief, said here yesterday that the police must not turn a blind eye to their behavior and stop the practices which are inflicting financial losses on the transportation companies.

"It is imperative to stop the imposition of illegal levies and to punish the unscrupulous police officers," he said.

He did not say, however, if the law was properly enforced when he was the chief of city police.

Drivers in Jakarta routinely complain of the unofficial fines they have to fork over to police officers. Despite the widely- known practice, strong measures have never been taken by the city authorities.

Ritonga was responding to a proposal by the organization of land transportation company owners (Organda), which is asking for higher transportation fares to improve services.

Organda said that most transit vehicles are in bad condition, that operational costs are too high and that they are struggling to turn a profit on the current fares.

Ritonga said that the city is unlikely to subsidize the transportation companies and that efforts to minimize operation costs are understandable and in need of support.

"Subsidizing the transportation sector is ideal. However, only developed countries such as Japan and France are able to do that. Jakarta still has other priorities which come first," he said.

The city administration, he added, needs to allocate its budget wisely and give priority to the most important sectors.

On Sunday Deputy Governor for Economic and Development Affairs Tb. M. Rais said the ideal way to overcome the public transportation problem is through subsidies, though a method has yet to be determined.

Organda responded, saying the government should be aware of higher spare part prices and of the fact that public transportation fares have not been increased since 1990.

Until a subsidy is approved, the organization has suggested that the government compensate transportation companies by arranging loans for small enterprises, locally known as low- interest KUK. A reduction of tax rates and import duties on imported spare parts are also being requested.

"Such compensation could reduce operational costs," Organda said.

Organda is also proposing that the fares on regular buses be increased from Rp 250 (11 U.S. cents) to Rp 500, from Rp 550 to Rp 900 for Patas buses (quick, limited service), from Rp 300 to Rp 700 for minibuses and from Rp 1,300 to Rp 1,750 for air- conditioned buses.

Organda also suggested increasing the taxi flag-fall from Rp 900 to Rp 1,500 and that inter-city bus fares be determined on a per kilometer basis. (yns)