Transportation operators pay Rp 11t in illegal fees

Transportation operators pay Rp 11t in illegal fees

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Illegal fees collected by transportation agency officials, police
officers, soldiers and street thugs nationwide -- which account
for 30 percent of public transportation operators' operational
costs -- reach up to Rp 11 trillion (US$1.17 billion) per year.

The Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda)
revealed the chronic practice, which shows no sign of abating, on
Wednesday after meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla to report
the problem.

"We reported the problem to the Vice President. He promised to
deal with it and discussed it specifically with related
institutions," said Organda chairman Murphy Hutagalung.

Organda estimated the massive illegal fees from the average
payment some 10 million public buses and public minivans made to
extorting officials. The daily illegal fees paid by the public
transportation crews is about Rp 7,500 per vehicle.

In big cities like Jakarta, a bus crew must pay between Rp
30,000 and Rp 50,000 per day to officers and thugs.

If spent for the public, Murphy said, the illegal fees could
help revitalize the country's transportation industry and provide
better service to the public and higher income for their drivers
and conductors and state revenue in the form of taxes.

Most of the country's public transportation vehicles are in a
poor condition and are not roadworthy because of a lack of
maintenance due to the high cost of spare parts.

Illegal fees has become the bane of the business community,
especially foreign investors, since it has created a high-cost
economy and reduced the competitiveness of the country's products
in the overseas market.

Nine months after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took over
the presidency, there is no sign that the practice is declining
with security officers allegedly becoming more aggressive in
extorting businessmen to offset their low salary.

Organda cited roads along the Sumatra and Java coasts as a
haven for extortion by hoodlums and security officers.