Sutiyoso to spank naughty bus operators

Sutiyoso to spank naughty bus operators

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso threatened on Thursday to revoke the operation
permits of any public transportation owners who raised their
fares in response to the 29 percent fuel price increase announced
on March 1.

"First, I will warn them if they raise their fares. Should
they insist, I won't be reluctant to revoke their operation
permits," he said.

Sutiyoso said he told the City Transportation Agency to step
up its monitoring of public transportation to ensure fares were
not illegally raised.

The city has not indicated if it will increase bus fares
following the increase of fuel prices. But there have been
reports of bus crews in the capital charging passengers more than
the official fares.

Rustam Effendy Sidabutar, the head of the City Transportation
Agency, however, denied there was a major problem with bus crews
raising fares.

"Any public transportation crews raising fares must be from
transportation operators whose offices are located outside the
city," Rustam said.

He said public transportation owners in Jakarta had pledged
not to make any moves before the administration announced new
transportation fares.

The agency has set up complaint posts at bus terminals across
the city and along main roads for passengers to lodge complaints
of illegal fare hikes.

Those posts are located in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta; Ratu
Plaza and Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta; UKI Cawang and Orion,
East Jakarta; Plumpang and Permai, North Jakarta; and in Citra
Land and Jl. S. Parman, West Jakarta.

Passengers can also contact the agency at (021) 3457471 to
file complaints.

The Jakarta Post reported on Wednesday several Metromini buses
traveling between Pondok Kopi and Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta,
a public minivan traveling from Kampung Melayu to Pasar Minggu in
South Jakarta, and Metromini buses on routes between Depok and
Grogol, and Kebayoran Lama and Ciputat, had raised their fares.

The administration announced on Thursday it had 111 trucks and
buses from the military and 250 buses from the City Tourism
Agency and the Public Order Agency at the ready in case of a
transportation strike.

Rustam said there were fears of a strike as public
transportation crews grew more vociferous in their protests over
the fuel price increase.

"We fear that public transportation crews will not go along
with their employers," he said.