Out & About: Bus fares can't keep going up when services keep dropping

Tue, 06/17/2008 10:05 AM  |  City

The City Council has approved a 26 percent increase in public bus fares throughout the city.

The decision was made after public minivan drivers went on strike last month demanding better compensation for their services. Public bus drivers complained that they could no longer shoulder the operational costs following the steep fuel price hikes set by the central government.

The administration was easily carried away by the drivers' strike and raised fares as requested. This indicates how the administration is quite responsive to the demands of the city's bus drivers. But what about the demands of passengers? I doubt the administration could push any public transportation operator to improve their services in order to compensate for the fare hike.

Those who travel by public transportation can easily see that the operators pay little attention to the cleanliness of their buses. The floors are commonly so dirty that they need serious scrubbing. The bus windows are always covered in a thick dust and stains.

It goes without saying that every bus passenger would like to enjoy a pleasant trip to anywhere in the city. Enjoying the scenery in a clean bus is certainly more convenient for passengers. This pleasure has been denied by operators and the administration for decades. Passengers are pushed to travel in dirty buses with blurry windows every day.

Passengers often hesitate when taking their seats as they are also grimy. Only after considering that they can't remain standing throughout the entire journey, they settle themselves.

But even if they do, they still have to pay extra close attention to the condition of the buses' fiberglass seats, which are often broken. Those who venture to use the seats, may have an unpleasant experience, like getting their thighs pinched between the fractured seat surfaces.

It is never nice to use public buses as they are always overcrowded. It is not only tiring but often difficult to remain standing particularly for women and seniors.

Bus drivers often jam on the brakes casing passengers to bump against one another. Bus drivers are aware of this unpleasant condition, but they just don't care. It is obvious that filling up their wallet is their only concern.

They continue picking up more passengers, cramming them into their buses. Passengers are helpless when it comes to confronting bus drivers' behavior.

Those who lose their patience, can only grumble, "Why don't they put them on the bus' roof?"

Bus attendants are often rude to passengers. When collecting bus fares, bus attendants often squeeze through the packed buses, thrusting a long arm to jerk a passenger on the shoulder so as to make him or her extend the fare.

This is harassment. Passengers already feel depressed when traveling in hot and crowded buses, and they often also have to hold their breath inside the smelly buses.

The crews' sense of responsibility for passenger safety is certainly low.

They have no qualms about demanding that their passengers move to another bus. Passengers have often protested against this ruling, particularly if it happens amid a chaotic traffic jam.

But again passengers are always the losers in squabbles with bus crews.

After making a U-turn, a bus crew can start on a new journey. This is more profitable than taking passengers to designated bus terminals.

It's time Organda (Land Transportation Owners Organization), encouraged bus crews to be more considerate of passengers. They should use the same effort to improve their services as they used when demanding for the fare increase.

They may look up to various countries that have better public services. But please, don't charge passengers an extra fee for making this comparative study.

Despite the inconveniences, passengers will certainly abide by the new rate approved by the City Council.

But the City Council should be well informed that the official rate will not deter the crew from imposing extra fees.

The bus crew often charge passengers an additional Rp 500 (5.26 US cents) when taking the tollway. With a bus crammed to double its seating capacity (some 40 passengers for medium-sized buses) the extra fee will amount to some Rp 20,000. While the toll fee is only between Rp 3,000 and Rp 5,000.

On the return journey the bus crew will again pocket an extra Rp 20,000 on the same pretext. How much does that amount to in one day?

--Retno K. Djojo

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