Busway ticketing system prone to corruption, say experts
Busway ticketing system prone to corruption, say experts
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta
Transportation experts called on the Jakarta administration on
Wednesday to set up an online ticketing system for the busway
because the current system was prone to corruption.
The call was made after the Corruption Eradication Commission
announced on Tuesday its findings on allegations of markups
during the procurement of the busway buses by the administration.
The experts, grouped in the Sustainable Transport Action
Network for the Asia Pacific, said during a seminar on the busway
that the ticketing system would always be a burden on the city
budget unless the administration addressed the problem.
One of the experts, Agus Pambagio, said the current system did
not provide tight controls over officers assigned to collect
money at busway shelters every day at 10 p.m.
"I just worry the busway ticketing system will end up like the
on-street parking system that forced the administration to
subsidize the Jakarta Parking Management Agency," he said.
The administration attempted to introduce a voucher system for
on-street parking, but the initiative failed apparently because
motorists were uninformed and uncooperative. Under the system,
parking attendants were equipped with personal digital assistants
and collected the parking fees from motorists. In return, they
provided motorist a freshly printed receipt.
The Jakarta Transportation Agency has already spent Rp 14
billion (US$1.5 million) to develop an online busway ticketing
system. But, Agus said, the system did not work because the
agency chose the wrong technology.
"If the current technology has to be replaced, then the
taxpayers money was spent for nothing. Governor Sutiyoso should
have censured the agency head for the failure," he said.
The 56 available busway buses can transport between 40,000 and
50,000 passengers each day, with tickets costing Rp 2,500 for a
one-way trip.
Other experts including Suyono Dikun of the University of
Indonesia, Bambang Sustantono of the Indonesian Public
Transportation Society and Wicaksono Saroso of the Urban and
Regional Development Institute also provided their evaluations of
the first six months of the busway's operation.
Wicaksono said the administration had failed to establish a
professional institution to manage the busway.
"The ailing state-run bus company PPD is a clear example of
mismanagement of a transportation company. It would be dangerous
if the same thing happened to the busway management," he said.
The busway system, which not integrated with other
transportation modes in the city, was slammed by Bambang. He said
the failure to provide feeder services had contributed to the
failure to attract car owners to switch to the busway.
"The administration must learn from the first busway corridor
from Blok M to Kota. The problems that occurred with this
corridor should not reoccur in others," he said.
City transportation agency head Rustam Effendy Sidabutar said
feeder services did not need to be improved yet because even
without the feeders, the busway buses were always full.
Governor Sutiyoso has said that he will consider the use of
locally made kancil (four-wheeled motorized vehicles), which are
being introduced to replace the Indian-made bajaj (three-wheeled
motorized vehicles), as a feeder alternative for the busway.
However, he did not provide any details on how this would work.
He also said his administration would support the markup
investigation of the Corruption Eradication Commission, but added
that the administration had yet to find any evidence to support
the corruption allegations.