Organda wants 50% rise in bus fares during holidays

Organda wants 50% rise in bus fares during holidays

JAKARTA (JP): The city's Organization of Land Transportation
Owners (Organda) has asked the municipality to approve a 50
percent rise in intercity bus tariffs around Idul Fitri.

Association chairman Aip Syarifuddin told reporters yesterday
that members considered the proposal to be fair and necessary to
meet increases in levies and bribes, which usually jump during
the holiday season.

"Last year's 25 percent increase in intercity bus tickets, set
by the government, meant nothing for owners because there were
too many illegal levies that drivers had to pay along the way,"
Aip said. "Therefore, the hike was ineffective."

The city administration usually increases the cost of
intercity bus fares before and after Idul Fitri, which will fall
in late January.

The effort is designed to control ticket prices and the
presence of brokers.

Stern action is taken against bus owners -- including revoking
licenses -- whose crews are found guilty of offering or selling
tickets for more than the official rates.

One or two weeks after Idul Fitri the price returns to its
regular price.

Aip said that the official increase was also urgently needed
by bus owners to cover the cost of buses which must return to
Jakarta empty or with just a few passengers.

"A higher fare during such a peak season will help guarantee
passengers have a more comfortable trip and prevent fares from
getting out of control."

He said that many groups intended to profit from the annual
exodus of more than one million Jakartans -- particularly
housemaids and other casual workers -- by becoming ticket brokers
or collecting illegal levies at posts along the routes.

"It's no longer a secret," he said.

"Even though the government has deployed officials to control
bribery during the holiday exodus, manipulative practices still
occur here and there."

Irzal Djamal, deputy head of the City Land Transportation
Agency (DLLAJ), estimated that the number of people leaving the
city for Idul Fitri may be less than previous years.

"I don't think there will be a huge leap in the number this
time because we're in a difficult economic situation with the
monetary crisis," Irzal said.

However, the agency has arranged for 7,801 buses to
accommodate an estimated 1.26 million people during Christmas,
New Year and the Ramadhan fasting month. (edt)