Quarreling marks first day of new fares in city
Quarreling marks first day of new fares in city
JAKARTA (JP): Arguments and negotiation among passengers and drivers colored the first day of the new fares announced on Wednesday.
In Jakarta, passengers attempting to pay the outdated fares quarreled with bus crews who told them of the repeated announcements on television.
"Well I don't know about it and I don't watch television," snapped one bus passenger on a Metro Mini plying the Blok M - Senen market route, for which fares have been raised from Rp 300 to Rp 400.
Passengers on larger buses were more willing to comply with the increase from Rp 250 to Rp 300.
Bus crews refrained from questioning the people claiming they were students, who paid Rp 200. The government announced that the cheaper student fares would remain at Rp 100 to Rp 200.
Taxi drivers negotiated fares with passengers, as most companies have yet to change the flag fall on the meters. The flag fall has been raised from Rp 900 to Rp 1,500, and the fare from Rp 450 to Rp 550 per kilometer.
"I have to wait hours in line to get the meter changed," Djulfian, a President Taxi driver said. "So for now it's up to you to decide how much you want to pay me."
Bluebird, Kosti and Express taxi drivers were among those who charged the previous fare, saying their employers have yet to enforce the new ruling.
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said the flag fall has been increased 66.7 percent to overcome drivers' reluctance to take passengers short distances.
Some taxi drivers hoped that passengers would pay them more than the new fares to compensate for the fact their employers have already raised daily rents. Others weren't that concerned about tips because they don't expect the taxi companies they work for to raise rents until after a transition period of at least four months.
One taxi company has published a list of the old and new fares for its drivers. Enterprising vendors are selling copies of the list for Rp 500 to Rp 1,000 to taxi drivers from other firms.
At the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport illegal taxis charged Rp 40,000 to reach Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta. The drivers insisted their fare was based on the previous standard fares.
They said the drivers of the legal taxis were in the habit of refusing to use the meter and charging Rp 41,000 for the trip. This is a frequent practice at the airport because the legal drivers say they have to wait up to four hours to get passengers.
Given the hike in the flag fall, one driver estimated that soon bargained fares could reach Rp 50,000 from the airport to Kebayoran Baru.
Local legislators are now urging the administration to anticipate possible concerns among transit crews and the public that the prices of fuel and staple foods will rise as well.
"The transportation fare increases will affect the inflation rate, which will then influence the price of goods," said Lukman Mokoginta, who chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party faction in Jakarta.
In Semarang, Central Java, councilor Karseno, who chairs the local commission on public welfare, expressed concern that the fare increases do not reflect improvement of public transportation, Antara reported.
"The fare increase follows the darkest chapter of our history of public transport, the sinking of the Gurita ferry and the recent Kramatdjati bus accident," Karseno said referring to the disasters which claimed a total of hundreds of lives.
The Jakarta chapter of the organization of privately-owned public transportation, Organda, urged owners not to raise rents for at least one month.
However drivers of the Mayasari company said rents have already been raised.
Salahuddin, a conductor of a Mayasari bus linking the Kampung Rambutan-Grogol route, confirmed that the company has raised the rent.
"But only few passengers pay the new fares of Rp 700 (up from Rp 500). They get cross if we ask for more," Salahuddin said.
In the provinces authorities were cautious, although Haryanto said the fares are effective today.
In Riau, the public relations officer of the provincial office of the Ministry of Transportation, D.M. Simanjuntak, said authorities have yet to hold a meeting to set the new fares.
He said the increases for Riau must take into account the fact that the fares are already considered too high.
"This is because we are near Singapore," he said.
In Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, Kamaruddin, the head of the provincial branch of Organda said fares will be raised gradually.
This is to prevent drastic increases in the prices of goods, he said.
Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja urged the public not to over react to the fare hikes.
"The fares to transport goods are not increased so it would be illogical to increase their prices," Surjadi said.
Haryanto also responded to fears that because the fares for students have not been increased, the crews of transit vehicles will refuse to pick them up more often.
Students have often complained of being stranded because bus crew prefer to take passengers paying the full fare.
"There is no excuse for not taking students, because full fares are already cross-subsidized by the fares charged on the air-conditioned express buses," Haryanto said. (team)
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