TransJakarta to maintain ailing bus operators<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The companies in a consortium supplying buses for the Busway
\nrefused on Tuesday to replace some of the firms, which according
\nto the busway's patron, Governor Sutiyoso, are not financially
\nreliable.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso said his administration would not tolerate the
\nmembership of operators with bad debts to banks in the
\nconsortium, TransJakarta Busway Management (BP TransJakarta).<\/p>\n
However, the management argued that replacing the companies
\nwould not benefit BP TransJakarta as expected by the
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
\"By giving the companies loans, of course, the banks have
\ndeemed that the project is bankable and they can repay their
\ndebts.<\/p>\n
\"As long as the banks do not blacklist them, we don't think
\nit's necessary to replace them with other companies,\" BP
\nTransJakarta's infrastructure division head Taufik Adiwiyanto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Bus operators PT Mayasari Bakti and PT Metromini reportedly
\nhave bad debts with city-owned Bank DKI.<\/p>\n
According to a letter sent by Bank DKI to Bank Indonesia on
\nJuly 5, Mayasari owes the bank Rp 22.7 billion, while Metromini
\nhas a non-performing loan of Rp 16 billion with Bank DKI.<\/p>\n
The loans were given to public transportation enterprises as
\npart of a liquidity scheme between November and December 1999
\nwith a low interest rate of 6 percent. The loans were channeled
\nthrough Bank DKI.<\/p>\n
Although Sutiyoso refused to name the debt-entangled bus
\noperators, he said his administration would replace them with
\nother bus operators.<\/p>\n
\"Those companies will be required to fulfill their financial
\nobligations first,\" he emphasized.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso's administration has insisted that it will launch the
\nnew busway project by the end of this year, although the
\nconsortium of bus operators will likely not be ready with their
\nnew buses by that time. Instead, the administration will employ
\n30 of the first busway corridor's 91 buses to try out the new
\nbusway lanes.<\/p>\n
BP TransJakarta said they could not provide the buses until
\nMarch due to financial problems.<\/p>\n
Aside from PT Mayasari Bakti and PT Metromini, which have 50
\npercent and 5 percent of shares respectively, the consortium also
\ngroups two other companies, whose routes are affected by the new
\nbusway: Steady Safe with 23 percent of shares and state bus
\ncompany PPD with 22 percent.<\/p>\n
The consortium has proposed that compressed natural gas-fueled
\nbuses made by South Korean firm Daewoo worth Rp 1.6 billion each
\nbe used for the new busway project. The price is much higher than
\nthe price of the buses used for the first busway route of between
\nRp 821.7 million and Rp 846.5 million.<\/p>\n
The second busway corridor from Pulogadung in East Jakarta to
\nHarmoni in Central Jakarta is 13.4 kilometers long, while the
\nthird route from Harmoni to Kalideres in West Jakarta is 18
\nkilometers in length. Both are longer than the 12.9-kilometer
\nroute from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/transjakarta-to-maintain-ailing-bus-operators-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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