Jakartans unhappy with fare increases
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Five-months pregnant Ati, 32, was waiting at a bus stop on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, West Jakarta, for a non-air-conditioned PPD bus No. P17 to take her home to Bekasi. The bus arrived 20 minutes later, but she decided to wait for another because it was packed.
"I could take a Mayasari Bakti bus No. P51, which serves a similar route to P17, but the bus operator raised the fare from Rp 2,500 (28 US cents) to Rp 3,000 since Wednesday. That is why P17 is always full because it has yet to raise the fare.
"I wish the City Council had rejected the bus operators' demand for a fare increase because life is already hard for me," Ati, who works in the administrative department at a private company and is expecting her first child, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
City Council approved late on Monday Governor Sutiyoso's proposal to increase water rates by 40 percent and bus fares by around 20 percent, saying that the decision was aimed at accommodating the interests of all concerned.
Although Sutiyoso just signed a decree on the fare increase on Thursday, several bus operators had already increased their fares on Wednesday.
The councilors approved the increase by 22 percent for regular buses from Rp 900 to Rp 1,100, express buses by 17 percent from Rp 1,200 to Rp 1,400 and medium-sized buses by 20 percent from Rp 1,000 to Rp 1,200.
The councilors rejected a proposal to increase the fare for air-conditioned buses, which is currently Rp 3,300 -- the ceiling bus fare -- but commuters often pay Rp 3,500 as bus conductors usually claim they do not have small change.
Many residents and the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) had asked for better services before fares were increased.
A salesman, Ade, 24, said he spent 30 percent of his monthly salary on transportation inside the city.
"I take the air-conditioned bus because I want to enjoy the ride home after a hard day's work. But the service I get for paying more is similar to riding an economy bus, because the drivers let passengers cram on board," he told the Post.
Ade said the city administration should subsidize bus fares, arguing that fare increases would not be necessary if public transportation was well managed.
Anne, a businesswoman, said the administration should have realized the public had low purchasing power and reconsidered increasing fares.
"Couldn't they calculate how much people here earn, how much they spend on food and public transportation. In this big city, buses are vital and fares should therefore be affordable," she said.
Thirteen-year-old Marcel, a student at Bethany junior high school in Pecenongan, West Jakarta, said her parents gave her Rp 20,000 pocket money every day, a fourth of which is spent on transportation.
"To get home I take an air-conditioned bus, which doesn't have a student fare. I doubt that my parents would increase my pocket money if the fare for air-conditioned buses was increased," she said.