Pupud Saripudin, a dedicated driver<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Becoming part of the intensely discussed busway project is
\nmore than just a question of pride or making a better livelihood
\nfor a bus driver like Pupud Saripudin.<\/p>\n
It is a chance to show the public that a bus driver too
\nunderstands what that sacred word professionalism means -- a
\nconviction born out of his concern about the widespread
\nimpression that Jakarta's bus drivers are reckless and lawless.<\/p>\n
\"I want to show the public that bus drivers can also drive
\nwith a high level of discipline and expertise, while providing
\npremium service as well to their passengers,\" said 42-year-old
\nPupud recently, prior to the launch of the TransJakarta Busway on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
For sure Pupud's remark will come as a relief for those who
\nare concerned about the city's poor public transportation service
\nfor it does not come from a smooth-talking politician but it
\ncomes from someone who has in fact spent more than a decade
\nplying Jakarta's streets.<\/p>\n
Pupud, the father of three children, has not a single traffic
\nviolation on his record.<\/p>\n
Pupud was one of the 100 bus drivers who was nominated for the
\ncity's best bus driver award last year and the only one from his
\nSteady Safe bus company, making him his company's number one
\ncandidate to be trained as a busway bus driver. He later joined
\nthe training at the National Police Traffic Training Center in
\nSerpong, Tangerang, with 115 other drivers for the busway
\nproject.<\/p>\n
\"I feel honored, and will try to do my best,\" he said, as he
\nbuckled up before adeptly test-driving one of the buses around
\nthe training center.<\/p>\n
Born in Cimahi, West Java, Pupud said that he had little
\nchoice, anyway, than to strive to be the best he could.<\/p>\n
\"All I am skilled in is driving buses, and maybe a little bit
\nof engine tinkering. So I might as well give my whole soul to
\nit,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Like so many other urban migrants coming from small towns to
\nthe big city to try their luck, Pupud came to Jakarta in 1979 to
\nlook for work to put himself through school.<\/p>\n
\"Since I couldn't afford to pay my senior technical vocational
\nschool (STM) fees, I decided to go find work in Jakarta rather
\nthan burden my parents,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Arriving at the capital, Pupud was lucky enough to get a job
\nas a mechanic at an auto repair shop through some of his hometown
\nfriends.<\/p>\n
\"It was an auto repair shop for those American jeeps. You
\nknow, those Willys jeeps,\" he said, adding that it was there that
\nhe first learned how to drive.<\/p>\n
Pupud's driving experience broadened when his employer asked
\nhim to drive delivery trucks for a chemical plant, as well as
\noccasionally drive buses for his family outings.<\/p>\n
In 1985, Pupud's employer gave him a reference to work with
\nBig Bird, Blue Bird Group's chartered bus division, before he
\nfinally joined Steady Safe buses in 1993.<\/p>\n
Pupud worked for 10 years at Steady Safe; seven years serving
\nthe Lebak Bulus-Senen route, before the route was expanded to
\nDepok-Kota by his company three years ago.<\/p>\n
In September 2003, it turned out that his driving was being
\ndiscreetly monitored by officers from the Jakarta Transportation
\nAgency and the Jakarta Police traffic division.<\/p>\n
\"I didn't know I was being monitored. I only knew when my
\ncompany notified me that I was summoned by the transportation
\nagency but I didn't know what I was being summoned for,\" he
\nrecalled.<\/p>\n
Two weeks of extensive training on traffic regulations,
\ndriving skills and etiquette in October 2003 was what the
\ntransportation agency summoned Pupud for, as they had chosen him
\nas a model bus driver.<\/p>\n
\"It was similar to training I received at the training center
\nin Serpong back in 1995. And afterwards, we received the honor of
\nbeing accepted by the governor at City Hall, and were then
\nawarded as the city's best bus drivers for 2003,\" Pupud said.<\/p>\n
But he did not become complacent after receiving the award, as
\nhe now felt that he had an even greater responsibility of
\nupholding his professionalism as a bus driver.<\/p>\n
\"I would feel so humiliated now if I was honked at by other
\nmotorists or if passengers complained about my driving,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Pupud has also become more critical since he received his
\ntraining, particularly about certain traffic regulations where he
\nhas direct knowledge and experience as a public transportation
\nbus driver.<\/p>\n
\"If the government wants bus drivers and passengers to comply
\nwith Law No.14\/1992 on highway traffic that requires all buses to
\nstop only at shelters, then they have to make sure the shelters
\nare built at convenient locations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, concerning the busway project itself, Puput
\nexpressed hope that the public support it, though he also
\nunderstood the criticism toward it.<\/p>\n
\"Please give us a chance to show that we can be good drivers,\"
\nhe said, as he stepped out of the busway bus he just test drove.<\/p>\n
Residing in a modest house in Bekasi, Pupud admits that he has
\nhigh hopes that the prestigious project can also improve his
\nwelfare.<\/p>\n
While one should of course keep an eye out for any emerging
\nflaws of the project, one should also think again before merely
\ncanning it without cause, as many ordinary, or \"little people\" --
\nare pinning their hopes on it.<\/p>\n
And the dedicated bus driver Pupud Saripudin, is but one of
\nthose \"little people\".<\/p>",
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