Hundreds of bus drivers strike, more will follow<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): More than 250 Mayasari Bhakti bus drivers went
\non strike on Monday, and hundreds of others are rumored to join
\non Tuesday to demand a bus fare increase to compensate their
\ndwindling income from the fuel price hike.<\/p>\n
The strike by Mayasari bus drivers, the largest contingent of
\nbuses in the city, left thousands of people stranded at hundreds
\nof bus stops across the city, usually serviced by Mayasari buses.<\/p>\n
Several stranded passengers told The Jakarta Post on Monday
\nthat they had to wait about one hour or more to get transported
\nby public buses, other than Mayasari buses.<\/p>\n
\"Most buses from Kampung Rambutan were full this morning,\"
\nEndang, a resident of Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, said.<\/p>\n
According to the head of the city's Social Disturbance Control
\nOffice, Raya Siahaan, 267 Mayasari bus drivers, mostly from
\nCijantung pool, East Jakarta, joined the strike.<\/p>\n
Luckily, the strike ended on Monday afternoon following a
\nmeeting between Mayasari executives and officials of the City
\nLand Transportation Agency (DLLAJ).<\/p>\n
Following the meeting, Mayasari's director for operations Azis
\nTrismaya Mahfud urged his drivers to resume operations, saying
\ntheir demands for a bus fare increase would be delivered soon.<\/p>\n
\"We will propose a fare increase shortly of at least 20
\npercent,\" Azis said.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, there are rumors that hundreds of bus drivers
\nwill strike again on Tuesday. A number of bus drivers said that
\nthey had been told by their employers to strike to demand the 20
\npercent fare increase.<\/p>\n
The city administration has prepared hundreds of vehicles,
\nincluding 440 buses and trucks from the Jakarta Military Command,
\nto transport stranded passengers if the strike materializes on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
\"We heard that bus drivers would strike tomorrow. We are ready
\nto transport the stranded passengers if they really conduct the
\nstrike,\" DLLAJ chief Rustam Effendi told reporters at the City
\nHall.<\/p>\n
City Governor Sutiyoso pledged to take stern action against
\nbus operators who instructed their drivers to strike since the
\npublic would suffer.<\/p>\n
\"They should not do that as it could be considered as an act
\nof 'sabotage' against the public. They should not use drivers for
\ntheir own interests,\" Sutiyoso told reporters.<\/p>\n
Some bus drivers who were interviewed separately by The
\nJakarta Post on Monday, refused to join the strike planned for
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
\"What will we eat if we join the strike on Tuesday?\" Siagian,
\na driver of a Steady Safe bus plying the Kampung Melayu-Grogol
\nroute said.<\/p>\n
However, Siagian agreed that the bus fare should be increased
\nfollowing the increase in fuel prices.<\/p>\n
\"Our income has dropped since the fuel price increase,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
With a daily bus rental fee of Rp 360,000 and daily fuel costs
\nof Rp 100,000, he said he could only bring home between Rp 15,000
\nand 20,000.<\/p>\n
Before the fuel price rise, Siagian said he could earn between
\nRp 25,000 and Rp 40,000 a day. (jun\/04)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hundreds-of-bus-drivers-strike-more-will-follow-1447893297",
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