Minivan drivers ignore decree on new fares plan strike

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Ignoring a gubernatorial decree on public transportation fares, minivan drivers are charging passengers Rp 3,000 instead of the Rp 2,400 stipulated in the order.

"If they try and force us to follow the gubernatorial decree, we will go on strike," said Mulyadi, 29, who drives a minivan between Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, and Kebayoran Lama in South Jakarta.

Following the fuel price increases that took effect on Oct. 1, Governor Sutiyoso issued on Tuesday a decree raising public minivan fares from Rp 1,900 (19 US cents) to Rp 2,400.

Many minivan drivers, however, are charging passengers between Rp 3,000 and Rp 3,500.

Public minivans mostly operate on roads that are not covered by medium or large-sized public buses.

The majority of drivers of economy-class public buses are abiding by the new fares. The gubernatorial decree increased the fares of limited-seat buses from Rp 1,600 to Rp 2,000, regular buses from Rp 1,900 to Rp 2,000 and medium-sized buses from Rp 1,400 to Rp 2,000.

Minivan driver Mulyadi said he had little choice but charge passengers more because his daily rental fee and his gas expenses had gone up.

"For a half-day operation, I have to spend Rp 120,000 for gas. I used to only spend between Rp 50,000 and Rp 60,000 on gas for a half-day operation," he told The Jakarta Post.

The government raised the price of Premium gasoline from Rp 2,400 a liter to Rp 4,500 liter, while diesel fuel went up from Rp 2,100 a liter to Rp 4,300 liter, and kerosene from Rp 700 to Rp 2,000.

Mulyadi said he received a circular from the Jakarta chapter of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda Jakarta) saying that public minivan drivers would go on strike if the city administration forced them to abide by the gubernatorial decree on fares.

Ucok, 31, who drives a public minivan between Tanah Abang and Kota, said even charging passengers Rp 3,000 he still found it difficult to earn enough money to survive.

He called on the city administration to revise the decree to prevent public minivan companies from going bankrupt.

"I have already spent over Rp 100,000 for gas today and it is only 11 a.m.," said Ucok at a gas station on Jl. Gajah Mada in West Jakarta.

Governor Sutiyoso said on Thursday that he would not revise the decree, but that he would order officials from the City Transportation Agency to revoke the permits of public transportation companies that did not abide by the order.

Meanwhile, with buses and taxis becoming more expensive, trains could become an alternative means of transportation for commuters.

A spokesman for state-owned railway operator PT KAI in Greater Jakarta, Akhmad Sujadi, said on Thursday the number of train passengers in Greater Jakarta had increased by up to 2 percent since the fuel price increases.

"We have not finished compiling the data but we estimate that the number of passengers in Greater Jakarta went up by between 5,000 and 10,000 a day after the announcement of the fuel price increases," he told the Post, adding that the total number of train passengers in Greater Jakarta was about 500,000 a day.

There are four major railway lines serving commuters in Greater Jakarta -- the Jakarta-Bogor line, Jakarta-Bekasi, Jakarta-Serpong and Jakarta-Tangerang.

A one-way, economy-class train ticket from Bogor to Jakarta costs Rp 2,500, while the bus fare for the same trip would be over Rp 10,000.