Price gouging found at vehicle centers

Price gouging found at vehicle centers

JAKARTA (JP): City councilors visiting several city-run
vehicle test centers on Monday were angered by the price gouging
they discovered at the centers.

"The official fees vary from Rp 16,500 to Rp 20,000 (US$2.20
to US$ 2.70) per vehicle, but we found people paying up to Rp
150,000 to get their vehicles checked," the chairman of the
council's Commission C on financial affairs, Amarullah Asbah,
said.

"We regret that this condition exists and urge the City Public
Land Transportation Agency, which controls the test centers, to
take strong action against officials who are involved in the
scam," he said.

Amarullah also disclosed that the test prices would be raised
by 100 percent beginning in April as stipulated in City Bylaw No.
3/1999.

"The new fees will range from Rp 25,000 to Rp 40,000 per
vehicle," he said, adding that he expected the city
administration would familiarize residents with the price hike.

Amarullah was speaking after members of the commission
inspected the city-run vehicle test centers in Pulogadung and
Ujung Menteng, both in East Jakarta.

There are also test centers in Cilincing, North Jakarta,
Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, and Kedaung, West Jakarta. Each center
tests some 400 vehicles daily.

Councilor Nazamuddin of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said
that while considering the number of vehicles served by the
centers, the city administration had lost most of its potential
revenue from the test centers because of the scam.

"Where did all the money go? Surely it was not going into the
city's pockets," he said.

Azis, a mikrolet (public minivan) driver, told the councilors
he had to pay an additional Rp 5,000 to receive the special mark
on his minivan indicating it had been tested.

"The worker said it was voluntarily, but everyone knew that
they would not do the work if you did not pay them," he said.

The head of the City Public Land Transportation Agency, Buyung
Atang, was upset at learning that customers were forced to pay an
additional fee for the mark, which he said was included in the
official price.

"The agency pays Rp 3,000 per vehicle for the special mark to
our private partner, PT Amanah. Residents don't have to pay to
get their vehicles marked," he said.

Nazamuddin said the test centers contributed more than Rp 8
billion to the city's coffers in the 1998/1999 fiscal year. In
the 1999/2000 fiscal year, however, this figure decreased to some
Rp 4 billion due to discounted prices at the centers as
stipulated in Gubernatorial Decree No. 4430/1999.

"The situation is worse because the city administration has to
compensate its partners for their losses in running the centers,"
he said. "The city administration had to pay PT SAWU and PT Nakia
more than Rp 500 million each to cover their losses." (05)