Minivan drivers ignore decree on new fares plan strike

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.