BOGOR - The West Java Provincial Government's plan to replace motor vehicle taxes with an electronic toll road system (Electronic Road Pricing/ERP) is considered potentially colliding with legal rules. The reason is that the regulation on the collection of tariffs on public roads has a legal basis that is very different from the management of toll roads.
Urban Transportation Observer, Yayat Supriatna, reminded that policies that charge the public pocket cannot be decided unilaterally without a transparent legal umbrella. If imposed without a strong foundation, this discourse risks becoming a new financial burden as well as triggering a debate on legality in society.
"Collecting money from the public without a legal basis has consequences. The idea may be right, but the legal basis for collecting it must be transparent so that it does not just add to the burden of the community," said Yayat Supriatna, Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Yayat explained that the West Java Provincial Government must clarify the status of this ERP tariff so that it does not collide with national regulations. The regional government must be firm in determining whether this levy falls under the category of regional taxes, levies, or Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) by referring to the Law on Financial Relations between the Central Government and Regional Governments (HKPD Law).
Responding to the controversy that has started to roll, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi spoke up. He explained that at this time the local government is still in the early stages of conducting academic research to mature the vision of the future transportation solution.
"The plan to abolish vehicle taxes, which will be replaced by a toll road system by the Governor of West Java, is only the initial stage of the study, the goal is that we all have a smarter insight in seeing transportation solutions," said Dedi Mulyadi.
Another equally crucial challenge is the fate of local residents who live along the corridor of the provincial road. This policy has sparked great concern because local residents have to pass through the path every day just to get in and out of their own neighborhoods.
Yayat asked the local government to provide protection or special rules so that local residents do not feel burdened in their own homes. In addition, the imposition of mandatory tariffs is accompanied by a strict Minimum Service Standard (SPM) as compensation for the money paid by the community.
"There must be clear arrangements. Do local residents who pass by every day have to pay? This must be emphasized in a larger context," said Yayat.
The last challenge that must be faced is the mechanism for managing revenue and the discipline of the digital system. The West Java Provincial Government is required to be transparent so that funds withdrawn from the ERP system are actually returned for improving the quality of road infrastructure.
Not only that, the use of digital sensor technology without toll gates alias Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) also requires the integration of super accurate vehicle data with the police system. Otherwise, monitoring of violators is impossible to be done in an accountable manner.
At the end of his explanation, Yayat suggested that the West Java Provincial Government should not rush to execute this program. The concept and mitigation of social and economic impacts must be 100 percent mature before being implemented.
"Mature the concept first, prepare clear legal rules, prepare the technical rules, and most importantly, prepare a study on the social and economic impact on the community," concluded Yayat.
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