Officers tirelessly guard Busway lane<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
To ensure that the Busway runs smoothly in its exclusive lane,
\nmore than 2,000 officers from the Jakarta Transportation Agency
\nand the TransJakarta Busway are on guard every day at 14 critical
\npoints where the lane intersects with regular traffic.<\/p>\n
\"It's very tiring. We have to guard the intersections all day
\nlong, from morning to night,\" an officer from the transportation
\nagency, who was regulating traffic at a U-turn near Plaza Glodok,
\nWest Jakarta, said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Usually working in groups of three, about 100 officers of the
\nagency work non-stop from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in a single shift,
\ntaking turns with their colleagues only for meal breaks.<\/p>\n
The officers did not have masks to protect them from breathing
\nin the city's heavily polluted air for 15 hours straight.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, officers from the TransJakarta Busway are
\nfortunate enough to have three shifts -- from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1
\np.m. to 10 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The last shift is to guard
\nthe shelters from becoming overrun by the homeless and beggars.<\/p>\n
The 2,098 Busway officers also rotate between regulating the
\nbuses and guarding the shelters.<\/p>\n
The transportation agency officers said they had not received
\nany addition to their daily allowance for the new duty, although
\nthey had hoped they would.<\/p>\n
\"We only hope our superiors at the agency consider giving us
\nsome extra stipend,\" said an officer, guarding a U-turn near the
\nBusway shelter on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat.<\/p>\n
The officers receive an average salary of Rp 750,000 (US$89) a
\nmonth, and had no idea how long they would be stationed at the
\nBusway intersections.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know... Perhaps forever,\" one officer said.<\/p>\n
As the Busway nears the end of its first week of operations,
\nits drivers are struggling to deliver punctual services, while
\ntransportation agency and TransJakarta Busway officers are
\nworking long hours in less-than-desirable conditions to prevent
\naccidents along the Busway corridor. Meanwhile, Jakarta motorists
\nare struggling with the enforced discipline.<\/p>\n
However, only one accident has occurred so far -- a motorcycle
\nwas hit by a Busway bus last Friday as its driver ignored a
\npolice officer's warnings and erroneously crossed into the Busway
\ncorridor. The motorcyclist and his pillion passenger suffered
\nonly minor injuries.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/officers-tirelessly-guard-busway-lane-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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