Chaos reigns over feeder bus tickets<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The second day since the busway became fully operational still
\nsaw confusion in the feeder bus ticketing system, only a day
\nbefore working people trudge back onto public buses on Tuesday
\nafter the three-day holiday marking Idul Adha, or Islamic Day of
\nSacrifice, which fell on Sunday.<\/p>\n
On-duty ticket officers at several shelters were still unsure
\non Monday if the tickets were for sale.<\/p>\n
\"The feeder bus tickets are available now, but just to be
\nsafe, I think passengers should only start using them next week,\"
\nsaid a ticket officer at the Ratu Plaza shelter, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Ticket officers at the Monas shelter on Jl. Medan Merdeka
\nBarat and the Sarinah shelter on Jl. Thamrin, both in Central
\nJakarta, however, sold feeder bus tickets to passengers -- but
\nonly after warning them that the tickets could only be used on
\nfeeder buses with orange stickers in the front or rear windows.<\/p>\n
When The Jakarta Post tried to use a feeder bus ticket on an
\nappropriately marked Metro Mini No. S72 plying the Lebak Bulus-
\nBlok M route, the conductor looked puzzled and was ready to
\nrefuse the ticket.<\/p>\n
The problem was settled only after the bus driver intervened.<\/p>\n
\"So it's like that? Busway passengers can pay regular bus
\nfares using tickets like these?\" asked Ardi, the bus driver,
\nwhile taking the ticket to show to his company later.<\/p>\n
Ardi said the sticker had been on his bus for nearly a month,
\nbut he had no idea what it indicated, except that it had
\nsomething to do with the busway.<\/p>\n
The busway has delegated 45 Metro Minis as feeder buses, of
\nwhich 10 are No. S72 buses.<\/p>\n
Other bus crew members expressed their concerns as to the
\nreimbursement of the tickets.<\/p>\n
\"We won't refuse if passengers pay their fares with feeder bus
\ntickets, but we want clear information on the reimbursement
\nprocedures, or else we'll end up having to pay for them,\" said a
\nconductor on a Bekasi-Blok M, Mayasari Bhakti No. PAC05 bus.<\/p>\n
After a two-week free trial period, busway commuters who work
\nin buildings along the 12.9-kilometer corridor from Blok M, South
\nJakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta, will start paying for the trip on
\nTuesday, although unresolved flaws might cause a commotion at
\nshelters.<\/p>\n
Fares for regular buses serving the city's terminals range
\nfrom Rp 1,200 (14 U.S. cents) for unair-conditioned buses to Rp
\n3,300 for air-conditioned ones. Switching to a busway service
\nfrom a city bus costs Rp 2,500 one way, bringing the total range
\nto between Rp 3,700 to Rp 5,800.<\/p>\n
Passengers, however, can save up to Rp 2,000 on the feeder
\nservice.<\/p>\n
Tickets sold on feeder buses cost Rp 2,900 for unair-
\nconditioned buses and Rp 3,800 for air-conditioned buses,
\ninclusive of the busway fare.<\/p>\n
Comprising two stubs, one stub is to be given to the feeder
\nconductor and the other exchanged for a single-trip ticket at a
\nbusway shelter.<\/p>\n
Feeder-plus-busway tickets and busway-only tickets are sold at
\nall busway shelters, as well as at seven major bus terminals:
\nKalideres, Pulogadung, Tanjung Priok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Lebak
\nBulus and Blok M.<\/p>\n
On Monday, however, the ticket counter at the Lebak Bulus bus
\nterminal was far from ready to service passengers. As a Jakarta
\ntransportation agency officer explained, the agency's health
\nclinic at the terminal would sell tickets, but not until next
\nweek.<\/p>\n
At the Blok M bus terminal, twin ticket booths were already
\ninstalled in the underground hall, but were vacant and
\nnonoperational. Passengers thus had to purchase tickets at the
\nbusway shelter at the terminal.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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