Urban turnpike toll hikes

In 1978, when the authorities began collecting tolls on the Jagorawi turnpike connecting Jakarta and Ciawi, a hilly weekend resort 60 kilometers south of the capital city, people complained about the high cost of using that road. In an effort to sooth the feelings of the disgruntled motorists, the government announced that the toll would be stopped as soon as the cost of the construction of the road, which was the first major highway to be put into operation in this country, had been recovered. What happened was that the authorities later increased the toll by almost 100 percent without any explanation.

In 1992, the people started to complain again, when the government unilaterally raised tolls on five major turnpikes in Java and Sumatra up to 25 percent. At the time, harsh criticism of the government's action was also heard in the House of Representatives -- a rare occurrence in Indonesia's national legislature. Some legislators attacked the policy because the authorities concerned had promised to consult the House before making a final decision. The legislative body felt it had been deceived.

At that time the government defended itself with the argument that it did not deem it necessary to consult the House of Representatives on the matter because "to do so would only discourage investors".

Last June, when word began to spread that the government was planning to increase toll road rates again "in order to attract new investment and upgrade existing toll road services", members of the House of Representatives' commission concerned with public works disagreed. They said higher fees should be set only for new toll roads.

Now, the government has once again unilaterally decided to raise the tolls. And although the new increases announced by the Indonesian Highway Corporation (PT Jasa Marga), affect only the Tomang-Cawang-Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur toll road for now, few people believe that there will be no similar steps -- sooner or later -- for other sections of Jakarta's urban toll road network.

Although the hard fact is that there is little that the public can do once the government has set its mind on taking a measure, many people feel that the authorities could have at least explained the calculations behind this particular step. This seems reasonable in light of the fact that experience has shown that our people can be quite critical about any government policy that has a direct impact on their lives and interests.

Whatever the reason behind this latest measure may be, many people in this country are quite well aware that most Southeast Asian countries do not charge tolls on highways within cities. But where can the people go to register their complaints on such matters? The House of Representatives?