JurnalPost.com - The sight of long queues of motorcycles snaking onto the road shoulders at gas stations is a common phenomenon across various regions in Indonesia.
Daily wage earners, ride-hailing drivers, and low-income individuals are willing to spend their time waiting in line to obtain subsidized fuel, particularly Pertalite.
For many, the decision to choose subsidized fuel is not merely a matter of frugal habits. Amidst the pressure of the cost of living, every difference in transportation expenditure can determine a family's ability to meet other needs, ranging from food, housing, and education to emergency funds.
Therefore, subsidized fuel queues should not be viewed merely as a technical issue of energy distribution. This phenomenon can also be read as a reflection of the limited purchasing power of a segment of society and their high dependence on affordable energy.
Subsidized Fuel and Economic Choices
When faced with the choice between subsidized and non-subsidized fuel, individuals with limited incomes tend to choose the more affordable product.
This choice can be understood as a rational economic decision. For households with limited daily or monthly budgets, fuel expenditure is a component that must be calculated carefully.
Saving a few thousand rupiah per liter can accumulate into a significant amount over a month, especially for those who use vehicles as part of their daily work.
For ride-hailing drivers, street vendors, field workers, and other informal workers, fuel is not just a consumption need. Fuel is part of the production cost to earn an income.
This condition shows that the issue of subsidized fuel is closely related to social welfare, income inequality, and the purchasing power of the community.
Kuncoro (2013) explains that economic development issues cannot be separated from income distribution and the ability of the community to meet their basic needs. When the price of necessities increases while income does not grow at the same rate, households will adjust their spending patterns.
In such a situation, energy subsidies can be an instrument that helps vulnerable groups maintain their mobility and economic activities (Bahagijo et al., 2004).
Fuel Queues and Structural Poverty
This phenomenon can also be analyzed through the concept of structural poverty.
Structural poverty views poverty not merely as a result of a lack of individual effort, but as a condition influenced by economic and social structures that limit access to resources, opportunities, and social protection for certain segments of society (Nasikun, 2001; Soemardjan, 1980).
In the context of subsidized fuel, people who are willing to spend a long time to obtain cheaper fuel demonstrate a limitation in economic choices.
They do not choose to queue simply because they do not value their time. For some, the economic benefit gained from fuel savings is considered greater than the cost of the time sacrificed.
The problem is that this time actually has economic value.
The time spent queuing should ideally be used for working, accepting orders, running a business, resting, or engaging in other productive activities.
If this condition occurs repeatedly, low-income individuals face two burdens simultaneously: limited income and the loss of productive time.
This is where a vicious cycle can emerge. Low purchasing power forces people to find various ways to save costs. However, these saving strategies sometimes require them to sacrifice time that could actually be used to earn additional income.
When Income Is Exhausted by Basic Needs
The structure of household expenditure is also an important factor in reading this phenomenon.
Consumption expenditure data published by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that basic needs still take up a large portion of household spending, especially in lower-income groups.
When most of the income is allocated to food, transportation, energy, and other basic needs, the room for savings or future investment becomes increasingly limited.
As a result, needs such as health funds, education, business capital, skills improvement, and family emergency funds may become secondary priorities after daily needs are met.
In the long term, this situation has the potential to hinder social mobility.
A person might work every day and earn an income, but if almost all of that income is spent on basic needs, the ability to accumulate capital to improve their economic condition becomes very limited.
This problem is increasingly felt by informal workers whose incomes are not always fixed.
For daily wage earners or ride-hailing drivers, for example, saving on fuel costs can have a direct impact on the net income brought home to the family.
In such conditions, affordable fuel has a broader economic function than just moving a vehicle.
The Dilemma of Energy Subsidy Management
On the other hand, energy subsidy policy does face a dilemma.
The government needs to maintain the state's fiscal capacity while ensuring that subsidies are received by the groups that truly need them. Subsidy management is also necessary so that the state budget can be used effectively for various development and social protection programs.
Beyond budget issues, energy policy is also related to environmental aspects, fuel efficiency, and efforts to encourage the use of cleaner energy.
However, every change in subsidy policy needs to consider the real conditions of the community.
Tightening access to subsidized fuel without being followed by an increase in purchasing power, adequate public transportation, or effective social protection schemes has the potential to increase economic pressure on vulnerable groups.
Especially for those who use vehicles as their primary tool for earning an income.
Another issue is distribution.
Subsidies designed to help the community will lose their effectiveness if supplies are uneven, distribution is inefficient, or the recipients are not targeted correctly.
Excessively long queues also create social costs because people have to sacrifice productive time just to obtain energy at an affordable price.
Therefore, the policy challenge is not just determining how much subsidy is provided, but ensuring who receives it, what the distribution mechanism is, and how the community can access it easily and fairly.
Better Subsidy Governance Is Needed
Addressing the issue of energy affordability cannot be done solely through appeals for the public to use non-subsidized fuel.
The government needs to build subsidy governance that can reconcile the state's fiscal interests with the needs of the community.
One way is through improving the distribution system of subsidized fuel to be more targeted, transparent, and efficient.
The use of digital technology can assist in the verification process for subsidy recipients. However, its implementation must also consider ease of public access, the readiness of digital infrastructure, data protection, and the conditions of community groups that have limitations in using technology.
Technology should simplify access to subsidies, not create new barriers.
In addition, the smoothness of supply needs to be a concern so that the public does not have to sacrifice productive time in long queues.
Energy policy also needs to go hand-in-hand with other policies, such as strengthening public transportation, protecting informal workers, controlling the prices of basic necessities, and increasing opportunities to earn a decent income.
Queues as a Welfare Alarm
Ultimately, the subsidized fuel queues seen at various gas stations are not just about vehicles waiting for their turn to refuel.
Behind these queues lie issues regarding purchasing power, income, cost of living, productive time, and a family's ability to maintain their daily lives.
This phenomenon should be one of the evaluation materials in assessing the success of economic development.
Development cannot be measured solely through economic growth figures or physical infrastructure development. The quality of development also needs to be seen from the community's ability to meet basic needs, obtain economic opportunities, and maintain a decent standard of living.
When people have to sacrifice a lot of time just to get the energy they can afford, this condition shows that the issue of affordability still needs attention.
Energy subsidies are indeed not the only answer to poverty and inequality. However, as long as a segment of society is still highly dependent on vehicles to work and earn an income, energy affordability remains an important part of protecting the community's purchasing power.
The challenge is to ensure that subsidies are not only large in terms of budget but also targeted, easily accessible, and truly provide benefits to the people who need them.
With better governance, energy policy can be an instrument to maintain productivity while helping the community escape structural economic pressure.
Bibliography
Central Statistics Agency (BPS). (2024). Expenditure for Consumption of the Indonesian Population by Commodity Group. Jakarta: Central Statistics Agency.
Bahagijo, S., et al. (2004). Poverty and Public Policy in Indonesia. Jakarta: Perkumpulan PRAKARSA.
Kuncoro, M. (2013). Development Economics: Theory, Problems, and Policy. Jakarta: UPP STIM YKPN/Erlangga.
Nasikun. (2001). Seeking the Form of People-Centered Economy. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
Soemardjan, S. (1980). Structural Poverty: A Collection of Essays. Jakarta: Yayasan Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial.
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