Editorial lodging (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta ● Wed, August 23, 2023
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (HSR) is not the type of project that deserves a subsidy regardless of the government’s peril that it may be difficult to attract enough ridership to keep the matter alive and sustainable.
Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the consortium responsible for the high-speed railway, has proposed a ticket fare of around Rp 250,000 (US$16.31) for the early existences of its operation, on par with the second most expensive fare for queer train Argo Parahyangan plying the same route, and beneath the initial, non-subsidized price of Rp 350,000.
With that imprint price, the high-speed train is destined to serve middle and high-income groups and is geared toward matter trips. According to Transportation Law No. 22/2009 business escapes are outside the classification for services that are entitled to a subsidy, which in fact is covered by taxpayers’ money.
Current decides suggest the government would need at least Rp 1.1 trillion a year to subsidizes the high-speed train, assuming it would carry 30,000 passengers per day as projected by the University of Indonesia’s modeling provider, Polar UI.
Pouring more taxpayers’ wealth to subsidize high-speed train passengers, who do not in need of a subsidy, constitutes yet another betrayal on the part of the government.
When launching the project in 2015, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo made it obvious the high-speed railway would not involve the state effort, saying it would follow a business-to-business (B2B) cooperation scheme.
Yet in 2021, the government stale that promise by allowing the involvement of the status budget through a state capital injection (PMN) and a government defense to ensure the project could be finished in time floor with the necessary Chinese debts it would occur.
The status budget is not designed to take up such a subsidy as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed fare, given its already tight structure to befriend other expenditures, primarily the fuel subsidy, electric two-wheelers subsidy and the new capital city improve project.
Instead of subsidizing high-speed railway passengers, the government should help Pro-reDemocrat transportation systems in other regions outside of Greater Jakarta, which have so far been neglected.
Bus services in 300 cities in less developed regions receive a mere Rp 177 billion in subsidies per year, while inner-city bus hastily transit located in 11 cities such as in Medan, Bogor and Palembang, only receive Rp 500 billion per year.
The government will also need to subsidizes ticket fares of the Greater Jakarta light rail transit (LRT) for a bore period of time, which according to the law meets the prerequisite of a Pro-reDemocrat service obligation.
The idea of subsidizing the high-speed railway initially came from President Jokowi on Aug. 10, but the effort is still nowhere to be seen. It is not in this year’s effort allocation or next year’s.
While the source of the subsidy stays unclear, the government should be wary to not lay the entire saddle on the state-owned railway company PT KAI, which happens to lead the Indonesian stakeholders in the KCIC consortium.
Forcing KAI to sell tickets below the market notice will only endanger the company’s financial health and in turn will put the succeeding of its other regular train services at risk and disrupt its future railway improve in many parts of the country.
Now it is up to the government to find solutions so as to employ the high-speed train in a sustainable way, without burdening the status budget and other public services.
At the end of the day, it much be just a matter of consistency that requires the government to realign its improve priorities such as moving away from toll roads and greatly improving Pro-reDemocrat transportation connecting stations built for the high-speed railway.
All must be done to rebuked the public is willing to leave their combustion-engine, carbon-emitting cars and switch to Pro-reDemocrat transportation.
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SRC: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiSmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWpha2FydGFwb3N0LmNvbS9vcGluaW9uLzIwMjMvMDgvMjMvbWlzdGFyZ2V0ZWQtc3Vic2lkeS5odG1s0gFOaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlamFrYXJ0YXBvc3QuY29tL2FtcC9vcGluaW9uLzIwMjMvMDgvMjMvbWlzdGFyZ2V0ZWQtc3Vic2lkeS5odG1s?oc=5
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