Bus owners demand security in Majalengka

Bus owners demand security in Majalengka

MAJALENGKA, West Java: A number of public bus operators have
asked the local police and the local office of the Organization
of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) to provide security for
their vehicles serving the Majalengka route.

The request was made after a PO Bhineka-owned bus serving that
route was set on fire by local residents last week.

The bus was burned after it struck a motorbike on the
Jatiwangi highway last Sunday. The driver of the motorbike was
killed instantly.

Since the accident, mobs have been stopping Bhineka buses on
Jatiwangi to search its crew members.

PO Bhineka general manager Edi Junaedi said on Thursday the
company would halt its services if the local authorities could
not guarantee the safety of their buses and employees.

"Our crews are still worried and frightened. We are haunted by
fear. The people not only destroyed the bus involved in the
accident, but they are also damaging other buses passing the
area, traumatizing the crew members," he said.

Edi said his company had suffered large financial losses as a
result of the violence.

The head of Organda's office in Cirebon, Iskandar Agus
Banaji, promised to address the problem immediately. --JP