Plan to hike transport fares worries low-income families

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.