Team proposes new bus fares increase
JAKARTA (JP): A joint team tasked to calculate city bus fares increases decided on Tuesday to drop the central government subsidy for bus operators and proposed new fares for city buses.
The team, comprising representatives from the City Council, the city administration and the City's Traffic and Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ), the City's Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) and the City's Indonesian Transportation Worker Union (SPTI), presented on Tuesday its proposed bus fares to the council.
Chairman of the council's Commission D Sayogo Hendro Subroto, said the council would likely forward the proposed bus fare increase to the city governor, possibly on Wednesday, to be approved and announced to the public.
"The council leaders have agreed with the recommendation. We hope we can soon send it to the city administration," Sayogo, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, told reporters.
According to the team's proposal, fare for regular buses should be increased from Rp 500 to Rp 700, for mid-range buses and limited-seat buses from Rp 700 to Rp 900, and for students from Rp 200 to Rp 300.
Meanwhile, fares for air-conditioned bus, which currently stands at Rp 2,500, should be left for the market to determine.
The team's proposed bus fares are higher than those proposed by the city council, but lower than those proposed by the city administration.
The council proposed an increase of up to 30 percent in bus fares, while the city administration proposed an increase of up to 57 percent.
Sayogo said the team dropped the subsidy from its calculations because it had never been clear if the central government would disburse the funds.
"If the subsidy is really disbursed, we could give it to poor people here," Sayogo said.
He said the team had taken into account not only the recent fuel price increase but also an increase in the cost of spare parts in its calculation of the new bus fares.
Organda chairman Aip Syaifuddin welcomed the proposal from the team, noting that the fares increase would create a possibility for bus operators to rejuvenate their fleets.
"We thank the council and the team for accommodating Organda's aspirations," Aip said.
He said his association would meet local bus producer PT Texmaco next meek to discuss its plan to purchase new buses.
"But we still plan to use other bus brands in the rejuvenation program," he added.
Organda earlier ordered some 2,000 Perkasa buses from Texmaco as part of the bus rejuvenation program. However, Texmaco could not yet produce the buses, since no financial institution was prepared to finance the production due to the low bus fares. (jun)