Bus drivers strike over rental fees
Bus drivers strike over rental fees
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of passengers were stranded again on
Tuesday morning when over 680 bus drivers from the city's largest
bus operator, PT Mayasari Bhakti, continued their strike on
Tuesday.
Two hundred of the company's drivers stayed off the road on
Monday.
Thousands of passengers were stranded in the city's bus
terminals when Mayasari buses remained parked at the company's
main pool in Cijantung, East Jakarta.
Dozens of military trucks transported stranded passengers,
after picking them up in various areas, such as the Senen
terminal in Central Jakarta and the Kampung Rambutan terminal.
The drivers demanded the company cancel a 20 percent increase
in daily rental to Rp 350,000 (US$31) from Rp 280,000.
Sutrisno, 48-year-old Mayasari Bakti driver, said he was angry
about the daily rental being increased.
"What is the reason for the increase? We want to increase bus
fares due to the fuel price hike, but it cannot be done. So why
should rental fees be increased?" Sutrisno said.
Thousands of bus passengers were stranded at the Kampung
Rambutan terminal, while terminal officials tried to reason with
the striking drivers.
"We have tried our best, and tried to tell them that thousands
are suffering because of the strike. The drivers just do not want
to know," Made told the Post at the Kampung Rambutan terminal.
The strike started at 6 a.m and ended six hours later when the
bus operators agreed not to increase the rental fee. Drivers from
Cikupa, Klender, Ciputat, Cibitung and Cinangka pools
participated in Tuesday's strike, he said.
Meanwhile, trucks belonging to the marines transported
passengers to the Sudirman-Kuningan business district.
"I understand the drivers' action, but it really affected me
as a commuter. It should not be tolerated any longer! The city
administration should do something about this," Nasir, a Bekasi
resident, said in anger.
Another stranded passenger, Lusiana, admitted that she had to
wait for hours to get a bus to Kota from Kalideres.
Meanwhile, the Jakarta Organization of Land Transportation
Owners (Organda) proposed a bus fare increase, since the fate of
the promised Rp 216 billion subsidy from the central government
was still unclear.
"We'd be better off not receiving the subsidy but increasing
the fares instead," Organda chief Aip Syarifuddin told reporters.
He said Organda proposed the fare for regular buses be
increased from Rp 500 to Rp 1,000, fares for medium buses (Kopaja
and Metromini) be increased from Rp 700 to Rp 1,000 and for air-
conditioned buses from Rp 2,500 to Rp 3,500.
He contended that an increase in bus fares was necessary to
compensate for the increasing price of spare parts and fuel.
Separately, the City Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ) chief,
Rustam Effendy, said he had received Organda's proposal for the
bus fare increases.
"But it should be discussed by the administration. This should
also be discussed with City Council," Rustam said.
Councillor Syamsuardi Botan of the National Mandate Party
urged the administration to reject Organda's proposal as the
government had promised to provide a subsidy for bus operators.
"Since the current situation could be categorized as an
emergency, I think the administration could use the city's
reserve fund amounting to Rp 400 billion as bridging funds for
the subsidy," Syamsuardi said. (jun/04/ylt)