By Tifa Asrianti

Public minivan drivers and owners said Thursday it was becoming difficult for them to make ends meet because the fuel price increases were not followed by subsequent fare increases.

Yuri Prastowo, a minivan driver serving the M11 route (Tanah Abang-Kebon Jeruk), said while waiting for new fares to be determined, he set a temporary fare increase of between Rp 500 to Rp 1,000, depending on the distance. He said, however, not all passengers agreed to pay extra unless there was an official announcement.

Yono, another M11 minivan driver, said some passengers refused to pay the temporarily adjusted fares.

"The city administration should quickly decide the new fares because we're becoming deeper in the red every day waiting for the decision," Yono said.

Last Saturday, the government increased fuel prices by up to 28.7 percent. The fuel increases were not followed by public transportation fare increases. As a result, many minivan drivers went on strike last Monday and Tuesday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Yuri said he usually filled his tank with 35 liters of fuel to go back and forth between Tanah Abang-Kebon Jeruk 14 times every day. He said he owned the minivan so he did not have to pay car rent.

"Nevertheless, I try to earn Rp 125,000 (US$13.5) per day to save for the car's maintenance and send the rest to my family in Central Java. However, it's difficult to reach the target as there are fewer passengers," he said.

Yono, who works for minivan owner Lilik Sunarsari, said he had to pay Rp 150,000 in rent per day to the owner. He added he seldom reached the figure, putting him in debt.

"Besides the difficulty of meeting the target, we also have to pay levies on the road. For example, there are thugs in Tanah Abang who always ask us for money. We have to pay at least Rp 5,000 to each person. If we don't give them the money, they will vandalize the minivan," he said.

Ketut Suryadi, a supervisor at Lilik's garage, said he had to save around Rp 1.5 million per month for the maintenance of one minivan, such as changing the oil. He said the owner should also save in the event of an accident or car theft.

"With rising fuel prices, the drivers demand our more fuel efficient engines. But we can't make them more efficient than 10 kilometers per liter because it may interfere with other parts," Ketut said.

A minivan usually uses 1 liter of fuel for 8 kilometers, but several repairmen can set it to 1 liter for 10 kilometers, he said.

The number of public minivans is on the rise as the transportation business remains a lucrative sector.

Lilik, who started the business in 1996 with only two minivans, now has 30 minivans and 60 drivers, said Ketuk.

The average rental fee of a minivan is Rp 100,000 per day, which means the owner receives at least Rp 3,000,000 per minivan per month.

The public transportation vehicle head at the Jakarta Transportation Agency, Bambang Gardjito, said the office did not limit the number of vehicles per route, because the maximum capacity of the route depended on public demand.

"We don't want to be too rigid in limiting the number of minivans, because the number of passengers is growing. However, we must first conduct a survey as to whether the route needs additional minivans," he said.

In 2004, several public minivan operators at the Slipi intersection claimed there were approximately 900 M11s serving the Tanah Abang-Kebon Jeruk route and another 500 M09s serving the Tanah Abang-Kebayoran Lama route. Jakarta Transportation Agency data, however, shows only 360 M11 minivans and 389 M09 minivans. (The Jakarta Post)