Legislator calls for review of Transjakarta subscription fare scheme

Jakarta DPRD member M. Taufik Zoelkifli has requested that the planned Transjakarta fare increase, including a monthly subscription scheme of Rp200,000, be reviewed because not all residents are income earners. Taufik assessed that the subscription scheme is less suitable for people who do not use Transjakarta regularly. “This must be viewed by consumer group. For workers who have an income and use Transjakarta regularly, it might be suitable. But what about those who are not regular users? If they are not regular, they would also be reluctant to buy a subscription package. Meanwhile, they will still be charged a fare of Rp5,000,” he explained in Jakarta on Monday. Therefore, Taufik asked that the Jakarta City Transportation Council, which proposed the scheme, consider other schemes for users without an income. “So perhaps there needs to be another study on how to handle informal workers who do not use Transjakarta regularly and are also not included in the group receiving free cards. Whether there are other discounts or something similar. This is for the benefit of residents, because the current economic conditions are also difficult,” he stated. Regarding the Transjabodetabek fare, Taufik believes this needs to be discussed together with the surrounding regional governments. He fears that if the Transjabodetabek fare becomes Rp10,000, it could impact the main objective of providing Transjabodetabek, which is to reduce the number of private transport users. “Currently they choose Transjakarta because it is cheap, Rp3,500. But if it becomes Rp10,000 and the entire cost is passed on to consumers, I am worried they will return to using private vehicles,” Taufik said. Therefore, he suggested that regional governments, especially the buffer zones, sit down together to discuss this matter. Additionally, Taufik assessed that the Transjabodetabek fare should ideally be set at only Rp7,500 so as not to overly burden the public, particularly in the buffer zones.