Bogor to introduce busway this year

BOGOR: Overwhelmed with traffic congestion due to large number of public minivans, the Bogor regency administration is planning to operate larger buses.

Head of the transportation agency, Hari Harsono, said that the system would be similar to Jakarta's busway. He said that 15 medium-sized buses, which each would carries 25 passengers, are expected to traverse the small town later this year.

Hari said there will be 16 bus stops across the regency.

"The busway will ease the heavy traffic ... Currently, there are 4,612 public minivans in the city serving seven routes," he added.

A decree in 2003 stipulated that only 3,506 public minivans are allowed to operate in Bogor. So far, the administration has approved the operation of 3,271 minivans. -- JP