Bus owners told to bring fleets up to standard<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The municipal administration has ordered owners
\nof buses and other public transit vehicles operating in the
\ncapital to bring their fleets up to standard to improve service
\nand facilitate traffic flow.<\/p>\n
JP Sepang, chairman of the Land Transportation and Traffic
\nControl Agency, said that bringing fleets up to standard is
\nnecessary to improving the image of Jakarta in the eyes of the
\ndelegates and other guests of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic
\nCooperation (APEC) meeting.<\/p>\n
\"We have ordered all owners of buses and other transportation
\nmeans to pay more attention to the condition of their fleets,
\nespecially their cleanliness,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sepang told the Antara news agency on Thursday that he has
\nalso ordered all heads of the traffic control agency's chapters
\nthroughout the city to improve cleanliness in and around
\nterminals and bus shelters, as well as traffic signs.<\/p>\n
He said that supervision of the condition of public transit
\nvehicles and of the traffic signs and other traffic supporting
\nfacilities is part of the agency's daily operations.<\/p>\n
\"These operations are being intensified at present in
\npreparation for the APEC meeting,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Herman Tonglo Langi, head of the agency's control and
\ntransportation office, said that his office registered 516
\ntraffic violations by drivers of public transit vehicles last
\nmonth. All of the cases have gone to trial.<\/p>\n
\"Unlike in September when most violations were committed by
\nbus drivers, last month's violations were dominated by truck
\ndrivers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The violations ranged from exceeding load capacity limits and
\ndeviating from designated transportation routes to exceeding the
\ndeadline for vehicle roadworthy examinations, he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that most violations by bus drivers involved
\ncutting short their routes to avoid entering terminals. Bus
\ndrivers are often reluctant to use the terminals because they are
\nforced to wait in a long lines to pick up passengers.<\/p>\n
In a related development, Brig. Gen. Dibyo Widodo, deputy head
\nof the city police, said that the public transit vehicles in the
\ncity transport at least 4.5 million passengers daily.<\/p>\n
\"Due to the large amount of the passengers transported by the
\npublic transit vehicles, all related parties are invited to pay
\nmore attention to the companies' management,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Poor quality<\/p>\n
Speaking at the closing ceremony for the course for the
\nupgrading of drivers of public vehicles in Serpong, West Java, on
\nThursday, Widodo said that improvement of the firms' management
\nis badly needed to enable them to provide better services.<\/p>\n
He expressed concern over the poor quality of the management
\nof public transit companies, which are established on a limited
\nliability basis and do not have their own fleets. Most of these
\nfirms simply organize bus owners under a loose, umbrella-type
\nmanagement.<\/p>\n
Under such a structure, the companies do not have any
\nrelationship with their drivers, who are hired by the vehicle
\nowners and are obliged to pay rental fees to them on a daily
\nbasis, he said.<\/p>\n
Widodo also expressed dissatisfaction over the confusion as to
\nwho is responsible for the handling the costs for the operation
\nof the transit vehicle maintenance centers, which are scattered
\nthroughout the city.<\/p>\n
He said that traffic problems in the capital have become
\nincreasingly complicated because the increase in the number of
\nvehicles is not in line with the growth of the population.<\/p>\n
\"Discipline on the part of drivers is also still low. Most of
\nthem recklessly speed and ignore existing regulations,\" he added.
\n(hhr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bus-owners-told-to-bring-fleets-up-to-standard-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}