Busway feeder service failure admitted<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The TransJakarta Busway management admits that it has failed to
\nprovide feeder services for the 12.9-kilometer busway corridor
\nfrom Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Management head Irzal Djamal said on Tuesday that eight bus
\noperators did not provide an adequate number of feeder services,
\nas specified in an agreement signed between them earlier.<\/p>\n
"I have already warned the operators about the small number of
\npassengers buying combination tickets for the feeder and the
\nbusway. We shall evaluate their performance after their contract
\nexpires next month," Irzal told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The eight operators are Metromini, Kopaja, Steady Safe,
\nBianglala, state-owned PPD, Kopami, Pahala Kencana and Mayasari
\nBhakti.<\/p>\n
Data from the management shows that the 383 feeder buses owned
\nby the eight operators have accommodated only a few hundred
\npassengers, although the number of busway passengers is around
\n62,000 people per day.<\/p>\n
Irzal claimed that the failure was because bus crews preferred
\nto accept cash from feeder pedestrians instead of tickets as
\nprovided by the busway management.<\/p>\n
However, PPD spokesman Safrudin Dahlan refuted Irzal's
\nstatement, saying that the bus operators did not receive any
\nbenefit by providing feeder services, as there was no clear
\nstatement of responsibilities of the operators and the busway
\nmanagement.<\/p>\n
He added that the failure was also sparked by few passengers
\nwilling to buy feeder tickets.<\/p>\n
The busway management has prepared two types of feeder buses:
\nair-conditioned buses, whose fare is Rp 3,900 (42 U.S. cents) and
\nnon-air-conditioned buses, which charge Rp 2,900.<\/p>\n
The feeder bus concept differed from the plan as originally
\nconceived, in which the management planned to categorize buses
\nbased on zoning.<\/p>\n
The management has also yet to decommission other buses whose
\nroutes overlap that of the busway.<\/p>\n
Despite a failure to provide adequate feeder services, the
\ncity transportation agency has insisted on starting construction
\nof the second busway corridor from Kalideres, West Jakarta, to
\nPulogadung, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"We shall proceed with the (second corridor) project, no
\nmatter what critics say," agency head Rustam Effendy Sidabutar
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He also rejected any significant changes to the planned
\ncorridor, including a recommendation from a transportation expert
\nto reroute the corridor due to major damage that would be caused
\nby the project.<\/p>\n
"There will be no significant changes; the decision is final."<\/p>\n
The estimated cost of the second corridor infrastructure
\ntotals Rp 600 billion.<\/p>\n
"The agency is responsible for building bus stops and
\npedestrian bridges for the project, which will cost around Rp 369
\nbillion," he said.<\/p>\n
The city public works agency and city parks agency will be
\nresponsible for the establishment of lanes and median strips
\nalong the corridor.<\/p>\n
Rustam acknowledged that the new corridor budget would be
\nhigher than that for the first project due to technical
\ndifficulties in the field. "Some parts of the planned corridor
\nhave only two lanes, with others three. We must sort that out
\nprior to implementation of the busway."<\/p>\n
The agency also plans the construction of two other new
\ncorridors: Pulogadung, East Jakarta, to Hotel Indonesia, Central
\nJakarta, in 2006, and Kampung Rambutan, East Jakarta, to Tanjung
\nPriok, North Jakarta, in 2007.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/busway-feeder-service-failure-admitted-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}