Transportation fares to rise next month

Transportation fares to rise next month

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Communications Agum Gumelar said
here on Tuesday that new sea and land transportation fares would
take affect beginning next month.

The minister said that fare increases could not be avoided as
the current charges were no longer enough to cover operational
costs.

Although the increases were still well below the level
demanded by transportation operators, the hikes would improve
margins for their operations, the minister opined.

"Transportation operators should therefore improve their
services, safety measures, sanitation, employee welfare,
efficiency and law enforcement, he told a press briefing.

Based on the new fare structures, fees for intercity buses
will increase by about 40 percent to Rp 39 a passenger per
kilometer from Rp 28, train fares will rise by 72 percent to Rp
37.36 a passenger per kilometer from Rp 21.68, while ferry
services will surge by 60 percent to Rp 186.66 a passenger per
nautical mile from Rp 116.78, and interisland ships by 62 percent
to Rp 215.66 a passenger per nautical mile from Rp 133.44.

An economy ticked for a train plying the Surabaya/Jakarta
route, for example, will cost Rp 21,000 from the previous Rp
13,000. Ferry rides across the Sunda Strait from Merak, West Java
to Bakauheni, Lampung will cost Rp 2,800 from Rp 1,750.

"Increasing transportation fares has always been an unpopular
issue, but it is unavoidable," Agum told journalists.

Intercity bus operators had proposed a 92 percent hike, train
operators a 147 percent increase, ferry operators a 68 percent
increase and ship operators a 78 percent increase from current
levels.

But members of the House of Representatives rejected their
proposal because a dramatic increase in the transportation fares
could lead to social problems.

The fare hike is the first since 1996, a year before the
country was hit by its worst ever crisis in 1997. The crisis,
triggered by the sharp drop in the rupiah's value against the
U.S. dollar has resulted in more than a 200 percent increase in
prices of spare parts.

President of state-owned shipping company PT Pelayaran
Nasional Indonesia (Pelni), Isnoor Haryanto, said the new rate
was still too low, given the sharp increase in the operational
costs of the company's fleet.

"With the new fares, it will still be very difficult for us to
make a profit," Isnoor said.

According to him, passengers could tolerate a higher increase
as long as the services were improved.

"A market research survey of Pelni services discovered that a
majority of passengers would not mind a fare increase if services
like sanitation, ticketing facilities, and food are improved," he
said. (10)