Bali car rental firms seek assurance

Dicky Christanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Fri, 07/04/2008 11:08 AM  |  Bali

The long holiday brings more money, but now it also brings more worry for Bali car rental firms. The one-month school holiday means a big increase in car rentals.

Wayan Suka Arsana of Bali Setia Motor, one of Bali's leading car rental companies, said Tuesday that half of its fleet of 50 cars had been rented out for the month. This was much higher than the average 10 cars rented out each day before the holidays.

The company charges Rp 250,000 (US$28) per 24 hours for the rent of an MPV (Multi-Purpose Van) such as a Toyota Avanza, Daihatsu Xenia or Suzuki APV. A new Toyota Kijang Innova rents for Rp 300,000.

Despite good business, Suka Arsana said the long holiday now meant more worry, largely due to a change in local government regulations. The old rules gave car rental firms a greater sense of security, he said.

Previously the local transportation agency and police issued a special license for rental cars, at a cost of Rp 150,000 per vehicle.

"When a person rented the car, the rental firm did not have to provide the client with the full official license (STNK). Instead the operator gave the driver the special license," he told The Jakarta Post.

The old regulation prevented the renter from taking the vehicle off the island, since without the STNK the vehicle could not pass police checkpoints at harbors.

"The regulation minimized the possibility that a car theft syndicate could rent the car, take it off the island and never bring it back," he said.

The new policy has put an end to the special license, forcing car rental firms to screen potential customers more carefully.

Wayan Suarna of Kobonk Jaya car rental, also in Denpasar, said car rental firms were worried about the change.

"The police or the local transportation agency should bring back the orginal system since it gave greater security to car rental firms," he said, as quoted by Nusa Bali.com news portal.

Bali Police spokeswoman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sri Harmiti said that although special licenses were no longer in use, she was confident the police would still monitor rented cars.

"I hope car rental operators will stop worrying, as we will still keep a close eye on their rented vehicles," she said.

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