Deputy Governor Of DKI To Students: If Transjakarta Is Free Of Charge, Yes Not Allowing

Photo by Farrell R.S. on Unsplash

JAKARTA - Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta Ahmad Riza Patria responded to the insistence of protest participants from a group of students who asked Transjakarta to be free due to the increase in fuel oil (BBM) prices.

According to Riza, the DKI Provincial Government cannot make policies that free Transjakarta tariffs. This is because this will increase the burden of spending on the DKI Regional Budget.

"The student demand is certainly our concern for the benefit of the community. However, we hope that the demands must be realistic. If Transjakarta is free, it will not be possible," Riza told reporters, Thursday, September 15.

During 2022, the DKI Provincial Government has disbursed IDR 3.2 trillion for the APBD public service obligation (PSO) budget.

In fact, DKI added the amount of PSO to Transjakarta of Rp. 62.1 billion to suppress the tariff on public transportation modes so that the tariffs would not increase.

"With the current price, the provincial government has subsidized trillions of numbers. In fact, because now there is an increase in fuel, the provincial government has subsidized Transjakarta for IDR 62 billion so that the price of tickets or Transjakarta tickets remains. There is no increase, even if fuel increases," he said.

Yesterday, the East Jakarta Islamic Student Movement Branch Manager (PC PMII) held a demonstration in front of the DKI Jakarta City Hall. They demanded that the DKI Provincial Government respond to the increase in fuel prices by freeing Transjakarta rates.

"With a trillion APBD, the highest APBD in Indonesia, I don't think it's impossible if Transjakarta can reach zero rupiah," said East Jakarta PMII PC Chair Farhan Nugraha.

According to Farhan, the inclusion of Transjakarta tariffs will be able to ease the burden on the community in mobilizing every day. In fact, this will also make residents switch from using private vehicles to public transportation.

"We encourage the DKI Provincial Government to provide a total subsidy for public transportation, one of which is Transjakarta. I think, with the increase in subsidized fuel prices, the hope is that the entire Jakarta community will mostly switch to public transportation. This must be accompanied by a reduction in the mass transportation rate in DKI Jakarta," he explained.