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A law allowing road tolls to rise every two years is unfair, transportation activists said on Sunday as the government raised the tolls on two major roads.

The move sees the fee on the Sedyatmo toll road to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport increase Rp 500 to Rp 5,000 and the toll for the Jakarta-Cikampek road go up from Rp 11,500 to Rp 12,500.

“Because the government made the law, it seems to think it is compulsory for it to implement it,” Joko Setijowarno, from the Indonesian Transport Society, told the Jakarta Globe.

He urged people who disagreed with the law to complain.

“We should question whether the law was issued to benefit only certain parties,” Joko said. “Those who commute frequently on intercity toll roads will not be affected as much as those who use inner-city connections.

“People use the toll roads to get away from the traffic. But there are also traffic jams on the toll roads.

“The Ministry of Public Works should check whether toll road operators are providing the minimum service requirements. If not, then maybe it’s time for a judicial review.”

Etty Minanmi, head of public information and services at the Public Works Ministry, said the toll increases reflected the rise in operating costs.

She said that according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the operating costs of the Sedyatmo toll road rose 9.52 percent between June 1, 2008 — when the toll was last raised — and May 30 this year, while those for the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road rose 10.6 percent.

“Nevertheless, Jasa Marga also has to carry out its obligations according to the minimum service requirements,” Etty said.

Frans Sunito, the executive director of toll road operator Jasa Marga, claimed the company had exceeded the minimum service requirements.

“Our services such as electronic transactions or automatization and a 24-hour call center that provides accurate and real-time information on all of our toll roads across the nation are proof that we have done more,” he said.

Frans said the company had also increased the capacity of its toll roads. The Cibitung-Cikarang section of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road had been increased from three lanes to four, and the Sedyatmo toll road had been expanded from two lanes to four in each direction.

“If they blame us for the traffic jams on the toll roads then they are wrong,” Frans said.

He said the traffic going through the inner city toll roads “is three times more than the capacity.”