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Government to cut commuter line subsidy for higher earners in 2023
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he government will discontinue subsidies for commuter line train (KRL) tickets for middle- to upper-income passengers, in a bid to reduce the burden on the state budget, while allowing policymakers to target the funds for lower- to middle-income users, as well as less favored regions.
The Transportation Ministry announced on Tuesday that the policy would lead to those considered “the haves” paying full non-subsidized ticket prices, changing the prevailing policy that allows all groups to take equal advantage of the lower fares.
Under the subsidy, the public can ride the commuter line for Rp 3,000 (19 US cents) for the first 25 kilometers, whereas the fare should be around Rp 14,981.
“Those in ties, those in higher-income groups must pay a different price [from those in lower-income groups],” Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told reporters during a year-end briefing held by the ministry.
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During the first 10 months of this year, more than 80 percent of monthly train passengers on Java Island were on intercity line trains with the rest comprised of passengers traversing within cities and provinces, Statistic Indonesia (BPS) data show.
The data suggest that many people rely on KRL to travel around Greater Jakarta including Bogor, Bekasi and Depok in West Java and Tangerang, Banten.
Many workers in Jakarta depend on the train, as most of them are domiciled outside Jakarta itself because of the unaffordable housing in the capital city.
Budi added that those considered to have higher purchasing power would have to possess a card to use the commuter line, the mechanism for which would be finalized later next year.
He gave an assurance that subsidized ticket fares would remain available for those in lower-income groups, adding that the government would refrain from raising the overall fare, which previously was expected to rise to Rp 5,000 for the first 25 km.
Budi went on to say that he and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had discussed how the government would select those considered eligible for the subsidized fares.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the state budget still had to bear the subsidy for other transportation modes, including economy tickets in the inter-provincial railway system.
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M. Risal Wasal, the ministry’s railway director general, told reporters after the briefing that it would carry out the plan by the first half of 2023, but he did not rule out that the ministry might implement the policy sooner.
For now, the ministry is still mapping out issues related to the payment system, which will likely rely on cards, including to separate those eligible for the subsidized fares.
The ministry is also mulling the idea of using data supplied by the Home Ministry to determine those eligible to enjoy the subsidized fare.
However, Risal said, the government was still open to the possibility of using integrated social welfare data (DTKS). The DTKS has frequently been used by Social Affairs Ministry to provide a wide array of social aid despite often being criticized for its inaccuracy.
“We hope there will be no complications in implementing it. Just trust our data,” Risal said.
