Passengers, bus crews unhappy with new fare

JAKARTA (JP): City bus crews and passengers expressed dissatisfaction on Monday with the new bus fares, saying they brought no significant change in service or income for the crews.

Interviewed separately, many of the bus drivers and their assistants said the new fares, which came into effect on Sunday, were only beneficial for bus owners.

Regular commuters, while differing in their reasons, said the new fares gave nothing back to passengers.

Adi, a passenger, complained about the crew of a Kopaja minibus plying the Kota-Ciledug route, saying he was told to get off the vehicle and take another Kopaja minibus at Kali Angke, West Jakarta, due to space limitations.

"I just paid the new fare of Rp 700, but see, there's no improvement in service at all," he said after leaving the minibus.

Based on Gubernatorial Decree No. 815/2000, fares were hiked from Rp 300 (4 US cents) to Rp 500 for regular buses; Rp 500 to Rp 700 for minibuses; Rp 2,300 to Rp 2,500 for Patas AC air- conditioned limited buses; and from Rp 100 to Rp 200 for students.

Patas regular buses will maintain their Rp 700 fare and be allowed to operate for two more years before converted into either regular buses or Patas AC buses. Minivans will continue to charge Rp 1,200 for distances of up to 14 kilometers.

Despite the new fares and the view that service has not improved correspondingly, most buses were crowded on Monday to the point that people were hanging from the doors of buses, both regular and PATAS AC air-conditioned ones.

According to the gubernatorial decree, Patas AC buses are prohibited from carrying more passengers than there are seats, while regular buses can carry more passengers then they have seats, though it is forbidden for passengers to be hanging out the doors.

Buses from Kota were crowded, as were those heading to Blok M, Ciledug and Ciputat in South Jakarta. Some buses even appeared to list to the left because of the number of passengers crowed on the steps by the doors.

It was also apparent some passengers were not aware of the new bus fares. Budi said he was surprised to learn the fare for Patas AC buses had been increased.

"I took PPD 81 AC plying the Grogol to Depok route this morning and found the company had increased the fare from Rp 2,300 to Rp 2,500," said Budi, an employee at private oil company PT Santa Fe.

Not all buses implemented the new fares as spelled out in the decree, continue to charge passengers the old prices.

The City Land Transportation Agency earlier ordered all bus operators in the capital to follow the gubernatorial decree in order to avoid clashes with passengers.

For bus crews, the main objection to the new fares was that they did not guarantee a significant increase in their daily earnings. What the new fares really mean for most bus crews is heated arguments with passengers unaware the fares have been increased.

A driver's assistant on a Metro Mini public minibus traveling between Rawamangun and Manggarai, Henson Sinaga, said he was unhappy with the fare hikes because it meant numerous disputes with passengers.

"I don't know how many times I should argue with passengers who refuse to pay the new fare."

A similar complaint was uttered by Heru Usbandi, the driver of a Patas AC bus on the Rawamangun-Grogol route.

"The decision is not profitable in the eyes of drivers, because it only affects the amount of money the bus company makes. Previously (this amount) was set at Rp 555,000 per day, and now we have to collect Rp 675,000 for them every day.

"Of course, it's a burden for us, and at the same time there's no improvement in our income," he said.

Sukardi, a Kopaja bus assistant, conceded that bus crew were confused by the fare hikes.

"We may lose part of our earnings because the bus owners increased the fees from Rp 110,000 to Rp 170,000 a day, while we can't expect the passengers will pay the new fares."

Sukardi, who works on a bus serving the Blok M-Cilandak route in South Jakarta, said the new fares had created a time bomb. "We will protest next week if we can't bear the burden caused of the new fares."

Executives of the Jakarta chapter of the Organizations of Land Transportation Owners asked bus operators on Friday not immediately to hike the daily fees they charged their crews.

"The operators should increase the target by increments of Rp 5,000 or Rp 10,000 per day before reaching their new targets," said Dian Sugianto of the organization.

"The daily targets vary depending on the routes and the condition of the buses," he added. (asa/ind/nvn)