Govt insists taxi, cargo trucks not to get subsidized fuel

The government has insisted that taxi and cargo trucks would not receive fuel subsidy coupon.

Director general of oil and gas at the Ministry of Mines and Energy Iin Arifin said on Monday that taxi and cargo trucks were not public transportation normally used by the poor families.

He also said that the fare of taxi was not administered by the central government but by each regional government. He said that the government would only provide fuel subsidy for public transportation whose fare was administered by the central government.

The government will raise fuel prices starting next month. But public transportation will receive coupon to allow it to purchase fuel at the current price level.

Meanwhile, legislators demanded the government to also provide the fuel subsidy coupon to taxi and cargo trucks because a increase the cost of two transportation modes would also affect the leaving cost of the poor people.

Legislator Pramono Anung of the House of Representatives commission VIII on mines and energy pointed out that a rise in the cost of cargo transport would be passed over to customers.

Meanwhile, key executive at the giant Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle R.K. Sembirin Meliala said that the party wanted to see the coupon reached the intended target.

He said that the party would not hesitate to review the coupon system if it didn't perform as expected. (*)