Plan to cut public transportation tariffs opposed by bus owners

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso's plan to reduce public transport fares following the government's announcement to cut back the increase in fuel prices was rejected by several bus company officials yesterday.

Secretary of the Jakarta Public Transportation Cooperative (Kopaja), Mochtar Sholeh, said his office was against the idea.

"Kopaja will certainly reject the idea. It will only cause us more losses. Even the fare increase rise from Rp 400 to Rp 600 per passenger made two weeks ago has not come close to compensating for the rise in the price of spare parts," he told The Jakarta Post.

Mochtar, however, said that his office might agree to the move on certain conditions.

"We'll only agree to a reduction in bus fares to their previous level of Rp 400 if the student fare is increased to Rp 300 from its current level of Rp 100," he said.

Separately, a member of staff at the Steady Safe bus company, Suharno, said yesterday that the company was against the idea because it would only cause more problems.

"I think we'll go against it. We need a tariff which can help us to cover maintenance costs. It's hard to go along with the current tariff," he said.

"We have to deal with the change of status and tariff for non- air conditioned Patas buses into regular ones, not to mention the losses we are currently running," he added.

City Hall spokesman Kamaludin Santos confirmed Sutiyoso's plan to cut bus and taxi tariffs yesterday.

"The tariffs are likely to be adjusted in line with price cuts for premium gasoline and automotive diesel fuel," he said.

"The governor is now waiting for the city branch of the Association of Public Transportation Owners (Organda) to give its verdict on the matter," Kamaludin said.

The central government announced the cut in the price of fuels on Friday. Premium gasoline was cut to Rp 1,000 per liter from Rp 1,200, automotive diesel to Rp 550 from Rp 600, and kerosene to Rp 280 from Rp 350.

On May 5 the government raised prices for the three types of fuel to Rp 1,200 per liter from Rp 700 for premium gasoline, to Rp 600 from only Rp 380 for diesel, and to Rp 350 from Rp 280 for kerosene.

Organda's chairman Aip Sjarifuddin said he was still discussing the matter with the organization's members.

He said the organization would only agree to a 5 percent cut in tariffs from their existing levels.

Mochtar strongly emphasized that a cut in bus tariffs would only result in the death of public transport.

"If an agreement is reached on tariff reduction, we predict that only 10 percent of our fleet will be operational by the end of this month," he said.

He said the total Kopaja fleet numbered around 1,500 units and served at least 36 routes.

"Up until now, 40 percent of our fleet have remained operational," Mochtar said, adding that each bus needed around Rp 93,000 for fuel and maintenance every day.

According to Suharno, the number of regular Steady Safe buses in operation has also declined.

"The prime reason is the 300 percent increase in the price of spare parts and the impact of last week's riots in town," he said.

Suharno said around 85 of the 175 regular buses had begun operating again on 18 routes since the rioting died down.

Separately, city councilor Lukman Mokoginta said yesterday that he supported Sutiyoso's plan to reduce bus tariffs.

But he strongly rejected Mochtar's idea of raising the student fare in compensation.

"No way. I will never agree to that kind of idea," Lukman, who chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party faction in the council, said. (cst)