Plan to hike transport fares worries low-income families
Bambang Nurbianto and Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the government has again increased fuel prices, it is likely that public transport fares will rise, causing low-income families in Greater Jakarta to suffer further.
Commuting workers traveling to Jakarta will suffer the most as they have to take a number of different public transport vehicles to reach their destinations.
"I guess the fares will rise again. Of course, it will burden people like me. But what can we do about it? It is the government's decision," said Rini, 34, who works as a shopkeeper on Jl. Sabang in Central Jakarta.
Rini, whose husband and father of her two children has no permanent job, lives in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta. It takes three different vehicles to reach her office.
"If the public transport fares really increase, for example by Rp 200, I should spend at least another Rp 1,200 per day, while my salary remains the same," she complained.
She refused to say how much the family earned in a month, but the take-home pay of shopkeepers in Jakarta is between Rp 500,000 (about US$53) and Rp 700,000 per month.
Following Thursday's announcement on the fuel price hike by an average of 14.46 percent, chairman of the Jakarta Association of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) Aip Syaifuddin said his members would meet on Monday to discuss the plan before proposing it to the city administration.
"The fares should be increased, otherwise we all will be dead as we will no longer be able to cover the operational cost," Aip told The Jakarta Post by phone on Sunday.
The last round of fare increases was in July last year with an increase of between 28 percent to 50 percent.
The current fares for regular buses are Rp 700, the fares for medium-sized and limited-seat buses are Rp 900, and fares for students are Rp 300. Fares for air-conditioned buses are set by bus operators after receiving approval from the city administration.
Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairwoman Indah Suksmaningsih said that raising the fares was the right of the public transportation owners.
However, she said the government should make sure that it passed on its savings from reducing the subsidy to the needy.
Unlike the public transport owners, many drivers were not enthusiast about the plan to raise the fares. Some were indifferent, while others even worried that the vehicle owners would likely ask for a higher rental fee.
Salim, a minivan driver serving the Tanah Abang to Kebayoran Lama route said he preferred that the government not raise the fares because it would be difficult for him to collect the money from passengers.
"With the current fares, many passengers pay less than the official fares, which is between Rp 700 and Rp 1,400, depending on the destination," he said.
He also predicted that the price increase would be followed by an increase in the current Rp 60,000 daily rent fee.