The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 03/03/2009 1:46 PM
For Anggun Rosa Indah, using a public toilet in a railway station was a thing she tried to avoid.
Anggun, who commutes to her office in an air-conditioned express train from Pondok Cina in Depok, West Java, to Sudirman in Central Jakarta, said she used the toilet in the two stations very rarely because of their lack of maintenance.
"I don't need to pay Rp 1,000 (8 US cents) or Rp 2,000 to use a dirty toilet," the employee of a state-owned company told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
"I prefer to wait for 15 minutes until I arrive at the office."
Anggun may be among many city residents who avoid using public toilets after having had unpleasant experiences, but until people stop needing the toilet, public toilet operators said their businesses would keep running as usual.
Ahmad, a public toilet attendant in Pasar Minggu railway station, South Jakarta said his public toilet never stopped receiving patrons.
"I can get between Rp 150,000 and 250,000 every day," Ahmad, who takes care of six toilets and a five-by three-meter prayer room at the station, told the Post.
With more than 7,500 passengers using the Pasar Minggu station every day, Ahmad, 39, works hard all day to keep the toilets clean.
"Besides passengers, some market vendors and residents living around here also use my toilet," he said
"I have to sweep the toilet floor every 30 minutes."
Like most public toilets in Jakarta, Ahmad charges his toilet patrons Rp 1,000 for using the facilities and Rp 2,000 for bathing.
"There is no price competition, All people know that every toilet in railway stations and bus terminals in Jakarta has the same rate," said Ahmad, who has been taking care of the toilet for almost a year.
Every month, Ahmad said he had to spend at least Rp 150,000 for electricity and Rp 200,000 for buying cleaning materials. He also needed to allocate money to pay "security fees" to the local thugs.
"Several groups come frequently to collect money from me and vendors in the station."
"Two groups ask for Rp 100,000 and Rp 60,000 per month, while other smaller groups ask between Rp 1,000 and Rp 5,000 per day," Ahmad said, adding that the thugs would threaten him or anyone who refused to give them money. With only two public toilets operating near the station's main entrance, Ahmad said he never worried about losing patrons.
"The passengers only have a limited choice and it keeps our revenue steady."
Andi, another public toilet attendant in Gambir station, Central Jakarta, said the location of the toilet had a significant impact on boosting toilet revenues.
The 23-year-old said he was having difficulty making much profit although he ran a public toilet in the city's busiest railway station.
Located in the station's parking lot, Andi's toilet can only be seen by passersby or taxi drivers.
The passengers or station visitors who enter from the station's northern main entrance, can not see the toilet, as there is a mosque in the way.
"I only get between Rp 200,000 and Rp 300,000 per day although I open the toilet for almost 18 hours every day," Andi, who operates four toilets, said.
Andi said he was sometimes jealous of the operartor of the public toilet located opposite his toilet.
"The toilet beside the station mosque makes much more revenue as people can easily see the toilet."
"If they find those toilets fully occupied, then they come to my toilet," he said.
The Post's observation of the public toilet beside Gambir station's mosque saw that in 15 minutes an average of 12 patrons, mostly men, visited the toilet. However, Agus, the toilet attendant, refused to disclose his daily revenue.
According to Oding Mulyana, 39, operator of 10 public toilets in railway stations in Jakarta, running a public toilet business was a challenging job.
"First, we have to secure the toilet operating contract from the railway station management," Oding, whose family has run a public toilet business since the 1980s, told the Post in a telephone interview.
"Sometimes, we have to pay a higher price because other competitors would do the same, especially to win contracts in busy railway stations, like Kota and Gambir."
Most public toilets in Jakarta's bus terminals and railway stations are operated by private operators. They pay money to rent the toilets and expect profit from charging toilet patrons a fee for providing toilet maintenance and cleaning services.
"The highest rent rate for operating a public toilet now stands at Rp 25,000 per square meter per day and will continue to rise," said Oding, who has public toilets located in Tanah Abang, Sawah Besar and Gambir stations, Central Jakarta.
Once operators have secured the contract, Oding said they have to take maintenance costs into consideration.
"Operators sometimes have to take the risk. They have to spend their own money for maintenance should the public toilet only bring in a small revenue, such as less than Rp 50,000 per day. There will be no profit. All the money will go to pay utility fees and salaries for the toilet attendants.
"Then, they must choose, to continue or to quit operating the toilet," Oding said.
Despite this hit-and-run strategy, Oding said his family has managed to stay in the business for more than 20 years.
"At big stations, like Gambir, I can get more than Rp 2 million in net profit per month," he said. (hwa)
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