Middlemen at bus terminals

Middlemen at bus terminals

From Berita Buana

Nearly all minivan drivers plying their routes have hiked up their fares at will. This is because middlemen at terminals like to press drivers for money. Even if there are no passengers in the bus the middlemen keep asking drivers for money.

Passengers on route 03 bound to Baranangsiang Terminal, Bogor, for example, are often involved in a squabble with minivan drivers because of a fare increase of Rp 100.

The same thing is happening in Jakarta. The price of the Pasar Minggu-Kampung Melayu route, for instance, or the Kampung Melayu- Pasar Senen and Pasar Senen-Kota routes, have also been increased by another Rp 100. It is no surprise that budget-minded passengers have become angry.

When a driver was asked why he had raised the fare, the answer was more or less "because the middlemen demand money from us."

Quarreling with public transportation drivers is an unpleasant business. It is not impossible that negotiations for Rp 100 might endanger one's life.

I think action must be taken against the middlemen operating in bus terminals in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabotabek).

SUWARNO

Bogor, West Java