Organda warns of bus shortage during upcoming holiday season

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) said on Wednesday that only 60 percent of its 29,000 buses are in working order, sending an early warning to Idul Fitri and Christmas travelers that they might have to change their travel plans if they want to catch a bus home.

Speaking after a meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the State Palace, Organda deputy chairman Dadan Wirawan said that most bus companies could not afford to buy spare parts.

"Of the 29,000 buses owned by Organda members, only 60 percent of them can operate during the upcoming holiday season," said Dadan.

"So when people find only a few buses around, don't think that we are on strike. We just cannot afford the (operational) costs," Dadan told journalists.

Speaking at the same press briefing, Organda chairman G.T Soerbakti said the bus owners' plight had been further exacerbated by the government's decision to raise fares by just 12 percent during this year's holiday season, down from between 20 percent and 25 percent in the past few years.

"When the government sets the hike, we have to accept it. This is the first time the fare hike for the holiday season is lower than 20 percent. Usually we get between 20 percent and 25 percent," Soerbakti said.

Millions of Indonesian Muslims living in big cities like Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya usually return to their villages of origin to celebrate Idul Fitri with their parents and close family members.

During this period, the government allows bus companies to raise their fares by a certain percentage to cover their losses as the buses are usually empty on their return trips.

In practice, however, the government sets the level of the increase after consulting members of the House of Representatives. For the upcoming holiday season, the government and the House have decided to increase bus fares by 12 percent beginning seven days before and ending seven days after the Idul Fitri celebrations, which fall on Dec. 16 and 17 this year.

Earlier, Organda threatened to launch a strike due to what they call the "insignificant" fare hike, but the government refused to change its decision.

But some bus companies have decided to increase their fares by more than the permitted level.

According to Soerbakti, the different fares applied by many bus companies were triggered by the government's slow moves in deciding on the fare increase.

"The government is too slow. The regulation was just sent to us today (Wednesday) and we will only be able to disseminate it on Thursday," Soerbakti said.

He further said during the meeting with the President that Organda had also asked for government assistance in renewing their aging bus fleets by exempting imported buses and spare parts import duties.

"We also asked the President to provide a subsidy to bus companies to cover the fuel price rise," he said.

Soerbakti said the President had prepared a package for the renewal of aging bus fleets. The system for helping bus companies do that would be announced in mid-2002.

Meanwhile, public relations head at the transportation ministry, Kalalo Nugroho, said here on Wednesday that the government could not force bus companies to comply with the fare increase set by the government.

"The government cannot force Organda to comply with the price increase because the situation is very dilemmatic," Kalalo was quoted by Antara as saying.

According to Kalalo, Organda could only meet 50 percent of total demand for seats, while at the same time people's purchasing power remained low.

"If the government imposes sanctions on bus owners for violating the permitted fare increase, seat supply would be further reduced and that would only create another problem," he said.