Minivan fares on the rise

BOGOR (JP): Bogor administration has decided to increase public minivan fares from Rp 400 to Rp 600 soon, an official said on Tuesday.

"We'll decide on the new fare in the next two weeks," head of the Bogor Land Transportation Owners Organization (Organda), A. Chotib Malik, said.

"We're now still waiting for the West Java governor's decree on the planned fare hike. The decree will then be submitted to the Bogor City Council for deliberation."

In reality, however, minivan drivers have already been charging passengers Rp 500 since Monday.

Asep, a driver of the 08 minivan serving the Merdeka-Warung Jambu route, said the 50 percent increase was still not enough to increase the drivers' welfare.

"The increase should be at least 100 percent since prices of car spare parts and tires have already increased by more than 100 percent," he said.

Most residents, however, think the hike reasonable.

"If the hike was as much as 100 percent, now that would be called ridiculous," said Dedi, a resident of Ciluar subdistrict. (21/09)