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)