TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) is calling for a five percent fare increase after the government decided to raise fuel prices by Rp 500 per liter - which effectively brings the fares back up to levels last seen in November 2014.
"When fuel prices went down in January, fares went down by five percent. Now that fuel prices have gone up again, we are calling for fares to be raised again," said Organda's Secretary General, Andriansyah to Tempo on Monday, March 30, 2015.
Andri admits that although the prices of Solar and Premium - the brand of subsidized fuels marketed by state oil-and-gas company, Pertamina - has yet to climb back to levels seen in November 2014, but the prices of spare parts have soared due to the continuous depreciation of the Rupiah against the greenback. "That is why although fuels are still not as expensive as it were before, we want fares to go up again to protect our profit margins," Andri said.
According to the Head of the Organda's Jakarta office Shafruhan Sinungan, his organization is also calling for the recalculation of fares. "The Gubernatorial Decree that provides a legal basis for November 2014 fare hikes has yet to be revoked - as such, we plan to revert to those fares," Shafruhan said.
Meanwhile, the Head of Jakarta's Transportation Council Edi Nursalam, said that his officials are currently recalculating the impact that the fuel price hikes have on fares. According to Nursalam, fuel costs contributes to around 20 percent of the overall fare.
KHAIRUL ANAM | GANGSAR PARIKESIT