Bus That Killed 16 People at Krapyak Had Been Operating Illegally Since 2022
Semarang Metropolitan Police have declared that the Cahaya Trans bus involved in a crash that killed 16 people on the Krapyak toll road in Central Java had been operating illegally, as the vehicle had not held a route permit since 2022.
This was disclosed by Semarang Metropolitan Police Chief Commissioner M Syahduddi during a case briefing held on Wednesday (18 February 2026). Police had previously conducted a case review on 29 January 2026 to escalate the investigation, naming a new suspect — Ahmad Warsito (AW), the President Director of PT Cahaya Wisata Transportasi.
“It was known that the bus operating the Bogor–Yogyakarta route did not possess a route permit or supervision card (KPS), yet [the suspect] still authorised it to continue operating, despite the head of operations having reported the matter to suspect AW,” Syahduddi said.
“The Bogor–Yogyakarta route has been in operation since 2022, yet to this day there is no route permit and no documents relating to the processing of a route permit have been found. Therefore, PT Cahaya Wisata Transportasi has been operating illegally on the Bogor–Yogyakarta route since 2022,” he continued.
Syahduddi also revealed that the cause of the accident was negligence. The bus driver recruitment process came under scrutiny for not following proper procedures.
“The investigation by the Semarang Metropolitan Police Traffic Unit found that the cause of the accident was human error. In this case, suspect AW did not establish standard operating procedures for the recruitment of bus drivers, including verification of the validity of driving licences — where to obtain a B1 public driving licence, one must first hold an A licence, which requires verification with the relevant authority,” he said.
Syahduddi called on bus operators to ensure passenger safety. He urged transport business owners to comply with regulations for the sake of public safety, particularly ahead of the Eid al-Fitr homecoming period.
“We appeal to all owners, transport operators, and route holders to provide safety guarantees to passengers who will be using their transport services, given that in the coming weeks there is expected to be a significant increase in public transport usage during the Eid al-Fitr homecoming period. We hope that traffic accidents resulting in mass fatalities among passengers will not recur,” he said.
“We remind all transport owners and public transport service providers to strictly comply with regulations, standard operating procedures, and prevailing legislation. What we have conveyed today is evidence of our commitment to delivering justice to all parties in connection with the accident that occurred some time ago,” he added.
The Krapyak crash occurred in December 2025 and resulted in 16 fatalities.