Transjakarta Tariff Increase Must Be Medium With Quality Improvement

JAKARTA Residents sincerely increase Transjakarta tariffs as long as they are commensurate with improving quality.

The discourse on increasing Transjakarta rates has again become a public conversation. According to the news circulating, the increase in city bus rates belonging to the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government from Rp. 3,500 to Rp. 4,000 to Rp. 5,000 per person.

Actually, this is not the first time the issue of increasing Transjakarta rates has been discussed. Since 2020, similar discourses have often emerged. That's because Transjakarta rates have never gone up since it first operated in 2005.

The discussion on the increase in tariffs heats up again amid regional fiscal pressure. Transjakarta users' voices are divided into two questions about this increase.

A number of loyal Transjakarta users do not mind the tariff adjustment plan as long as it is in accordance with the service. Transjakarta is indeed one of the modes of transportation that is popular with residents because the price is still affordable.

Some others hope that the tariff increase policy will not burden public transport users if it is implemented later. Even if it increases, the tariff increase is not too large to remain affordable for groups of daily workers, students, and low-income people who do not receive free public transportation subsidies.

Transjakarta ticket prices have not changed since 20 years ago. In fact, operational costs continue to climb along with wide service coverage to buffer cities.

For operational costs, Transjakarta receives a subsidy from the Jakarta Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) of around Rp. 6 trillion per year. However, this figure is threatened with a cut next year because the profit sharing funds from the central government will be Rp. 11 trillion from the previous Rp. 26 trillion.

Is a recommendation from the Jakarta City Transportation Council (DTKJ) for the Jakarta Provincial Government to adjust the Transjakarta tariff. Adjustments to Rp. 4,000 and Rp. 5,000 can be done during busy time from 07.01 to 10.00 and from 16.01 to Rp. 21.00 WIB.

The increase in Transjakarta tariffs received support from DTKJ as long as it was accompanied by increased services. This increase is not only a matter of service coverage, but also ease and practicality of accessing Transjakarta.

DTKJ once wrote to the Acting Governor of Jakarta Heru Budi on March 27, 2023. In the letter, he said, if the tariff adjustment is approved, then service improvement needs to be done by increasing service standard indicators from the current (90.67) to 97.50. In addition, DTKJ also emphasized the need to optimize income beyond the box-revenue or nonfare rate.

Chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) Jakarta Yusa Cahya Permana also supports the discourse on adjusting Transjakarta tariffs as long as it is directly proportional to service improvements. The Jakarta Provincial Government must be critical of its own policies in line with the latest needs.

"You have to educate residents that subsidies, including transportation costs, cannot continue to rise because the economy can go up, down or stagnate," said Yusa.

He added that public transportation cannot be fully commercialized because of its very expensive costs. For that, a clear scheme and purpose is needed. Regarding tariffs, for example, whether flat or there is a difference between large, medium, microtrans, and Transjabodetabek buses.

"Public transportation services cannot be forced to be cheap. Services are affordable according to market targets," he said.

For the Jakarta Provincial Government, there is already a policy of free public transportation for 15 groups. This program needs to be effective so as not to overlap with other subsidies for vulnerable groups.

In addition, tariff problems must also consider other public transport operators in the same segment. Yusa said that the determination of Transjakarta rates should not be mixed with similar services, such as inter-housing transportation. If the difference in tariffs between the government and the private sector is too far, this has the potential to kill inter-housing transportation.

The mechanism for adjusting tariffs must be clarified. Who proposes, who agrees. It must be clear that it is not only a matter of the return of subsidies, but the improvement of services to be better," said Yusa.

Public transport users, said Yusa, need practicality. That's why he asked the government not only to focus on tariffs, because with Rp. 3,500 the number of users is still small compared to the total population of Jakarta.

"Communicate to residents that improving services along with tariff increases is also their interest. Services are more practical and affordable," concluded Yusa.