DLLAJ too lenient over route permit policy, expert says<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): A three-day strike by bus drivers in the city
\nlast week was caused because the City Land Transportation Agency
\n(DLLAJ) was too lax in issuing route permits, a transportation
\nexpert said here Saturday.<\/p>\n
Sony Sulaksono Wibowo of the Bandung Technology Institute
\n(ITB) said the agency was authorized to issue permits but "in
\nreality bus company owners can also influence (permit issuance),"
\nSony, a member of a study team on the city's transportation
\nsystem, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
After a presentation of the study results he said bus company
\nowners regarded certain routes as more profitable and were
\ndetermined to gain as much profit as possible by increasing the
\nnumber of buses on those routes.<\/p>\n
Owners would then approach the agency to obtain new permits,
\nhe said. Considering the increasing need of consumers, the agency
\nmight fulfill the request. But social and economic factors,
\nincluding competition between drivers, needed more attention, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"The agency sometimes does not consider social factors in
\nimplementing the transportation guidelines," Sony said, adding
\nthat the agency's guidelines for permits' issuance still lacked
\nrecognition of factors like competition between drivers.<\/p>\n
"The result is a split between bus companies owners, between
\nthose who make a large profit and those whose profits were
\nreduced after the permits' issuance. This led to (last week's)
\nstrikes and protests," Sony said.<\/p>\n
The strike involved at least 2,000 drivers on the Kebayoran
\nLama to Tanah Abang route and drivers on similar routes to Kebun
\nJeruk and Meruya Ilir. They said the strike was sparked by new
\ncompetition from a cooperative who was given a permit to ply the
\nroute from Grogol River in West Jakarta to Kreo in South Jakarta
\nwhich overlapped their routes and passed through Kebayoran Lama.<\/p>\n
Similar strikes were staged by drivers plying the Senen-Kota
\nroute, the Tanjung Priok-Cilincing route and the Kampung Melayu
\nto Pulogadung route. New competition from new buses were said to
\nbe the cause in each case.<\/p>\n
Soni urged the agency and bus owners to find a speedy solution
\nto the problems.<\/p>\n
Rojikin, who drives a no. D02 bus from Lebak Bulus, South
\nJakarta, to Ciputat, Tangerang, said drivers had to pay daily
\nlevies of Rp 2,200. Daily payments to bus owners were Rp 35,000,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
"Drivers are restless now because we hear that there will be
\nadditional D02 buses." Drivers had heard a private company had
\nalso gained a permit to start an air-conditioned route charging
\nthe lowest Rp 300 fare instead of the regular Rp 1,800 for air-
\nconditioned buses, he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year drivers on the route staged a strike because
\nOrganda, the organization of public transport company owners, had
\nstarted charging new fees, saying the fees would replace illegal
\nlevies.<\/p>\n
"Getting rid of the levies is impossible," Rojikin said. He
\nsaid those drawing levies, men called 'timers,' "work for the
\npolice."<\/p>\n
The joint study between the city and ITB among others aimed to
\nevaluate the effectiveness of the number of buses operating in
\nthe city based on the number of users and bus companies. The
\nstudy also proposed changing several existing city bus routes in
\nareas where they overlapped. (ste\/anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dllaj-too-lenient-over-route-permit-policy-expert-says-1447893297",
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