Sri Bintang wants merger of public transit companies
Sri Bintang wants merger of public transit companies
JAKARTA (JP): An outspoken member of the House of
Representatives has suggested the authority to ask all privately-
owned public transportation companies to merge so that they can
be properly controlled in order to provide more comfortable
desirable transportation means.
"In many countries, public transportation is always
monopolized by the authorities which assign a special body to
oversee it," Sri-Bintang Pamungkas told a seminar yesterday.
"The body is then required to manage the firm in a
professional way and is allowed to decide on a certain bus fee,"
he said. "If it went bankrupt, the body should be subsidized by
the government to continue its services to the public."
In Indonesia, he said, public transportation services are
carried out by many private companies under a fee schedule set by
the government with no subsidy.
"As a result, the companies compete with each other to earn as
much profit as they can without having to serve the public
properly," he said. Then, if they fail to reach the target,
including bribing officers, they can easily go on strike.
The recent massive strike by minibus drivers in the city
attests to the inefficiency of the current Indonesian
transportation system, Sri-Bintang pointed out.
The monopoly of such a public utility, he said, is allowed by
Indonesia's Constitution. "It's time now for the government to
monopolize public transportation services, especially in the big
cities."
A must
Asked to comment on the proposal, Director General of Land
Transportation Soejono said that the participation of private
companies in the city transportation system is a must due to the
government's limited budget.
"The government is still subsidizing a wide range of
transportation means in many provinces outside Java, but in a big
city like Jakarta the private sector has to participate," he
said.
The one-day seminar on car producers, traffic order and
national development was opened by Minister of Transportation
Haryanto Dhanutirto.
Organized by an automobile magazine, it was the first of its
kind held in the wake of last week's crippling strike. The
minibus drivers were protesting the new fine scale and the way
traffic police officers ticketed them for committing minor
traffic offenses.
An executive of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners
(Organda) revealed that the main problem in supervising the
privately-owned public vehicles is that most of the owners
are military and civil service officers.
Chairman of the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association
(Gaikindo), Herman Z. Latif, proposed establishing a national
council which might help the government discuss or propose a
draft related to the transportation system.
"The existence of the council is expected to help propose the
draft and make the public fully understand the law," Herman said.
(bsr)