YLKI against increase in city toll rates

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) is against the proposal to increase the toll on the city's turnpike, and urges the House of Representatives to listen to the people before approving such a proposal.

YLKI Chairperson Tini Hadad said yesterday in reference to a statement made by the minister of public works that a proposal on toll increases will be officially submitted to President Soeharto next month.

"The government increased toll fees by 30 percent last October and transportation fares have just been increased. Increasing the toll will be an extra burden on people," Tini told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Such a proposal must be submitted to the House of Representatives before it is presented to the President, she said. "Therefore the House must be heedful to the voice of the people, including the consumers foundation, before approving anything," she added.

PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada, which operates and manages parts of Jakarta's tollway, including the Cawang-Priok segment, wants toll amounts to be increased by Rp 500.

The existing fees are Rp 2,500 for sedans and jeeps, Rp 3,500 for larger vehicles like buses and trucks, and Rp 4,500 for very large vehicles such as articulated trucks.

Bambang Soeroso, the company director of technical affairs, said that the proposal is based on the investment for the construction of other segments of the tollway built by the company.

Earlier, company spokesman Iwan Hilman said the proposal to increase toll fees was reasonable as another 6.8 km toll-road segment from Ancol Timur to Jembatan Tiga (Pluit) is scheduled to be operable in June. The company has invested a total of Rp 676 billion in the 13.13 km harbor road project. The Ancol Timur- Pluit segment is part of the harbor road stretch.

Minister of Public Works Radinal stressed yesterday that proposal to increase the toll would be submitted to the President in June after the Ancol Timur-Pluit-Tomang segments were constructed.

Radinal said last month that the government had no plan to increase the toll on the Cawang-Tanjung Priok-Ancol Timur-Tanjung Priok stretch.

He said yesterday that if the government does not increase the toll, private companies may be discouraged to invest in toll road projects, which are very expensive.

Tini Hadad of YLKI said that the public may demand transparency in the investor's financial position. "No one knows how much the company has collected so far from the toll," she said.

The recent hike in transportation fees has also caused an increase in the prices of some commodities, she said. "To increase the toll now would be unwise," she said.

"The new toll will be imposed on public buses, too, meaning that people of low-income brackets will have to pay more for their daily transportation to and from their workplaces," she said.

She said the consumers foundation feels that clear classification is needed before a toll increase is approved, meaning that each segment has its own toll. "In this way drivers who want to have a short trip won't be forced to pay for the whole stretch of the urban tollways," she said.

Radinal said yesterday that people have never been forced to use toll roads. (sur/rid)