Chaos reigns over feeder bus tickets
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The second day since the busway became fully operational still saw confusion in the feeder bus ticketing system, only a day before working people trudge back onto public buses on Tuesday after the three-day holiday marking Idul Adha, or Islamic Day of Sacrifice, which fell on Sunday.
On-duty ticket officers at several shelters were still unsure on Monday if the tickets were for sale.
"The feeder bus tickets are available now, but just to be safe, I think passengers should only start using them next week," said a ticket officer at the Ratu Plaza shelter, South Jakarta.
Ticket officers at the Monas shelter on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat and the Sarinah shelter on Jl. Thamrin, both in Central Jakarta, however, sold feeder bus tickets to passengers -- but only after warning them that the tickets could only be used on feeder buses with orange stickers in the front or rear windows.
When The Jakarta Post tried to use a feeder bus ticket on an appropriately marked Metro Mini No. S72 plying the Lebak Bulus- Blok M route, the conductor looked puzzled and was ready to refuse the ticket.
The problem was settled only after the bus driver intervened.
"So it's like that? Busway passengers can pay regular bus fares using tickets like these?" asked Ardi, the bus driver, while taking the ticket to show to his company later.
Ardi said the sticker had been on his bus for nearly a month, but he had no idea what it indicated, except that it had something to do with the busway.
The busway has delegated 45 Metro Minis as feeder buses, of which 10 are No. S72 buses.
Other bus crew members expressed their concerns as to the reimbursement of the tickets.
"We won't refuse if passengers pay their fares with feeder bus tickets, but we want clear information on the reimbursement procedures, or else we'll end up having to pay for them," said a conductor on a Bekasi-Blok M, Mayasari Bhakti No. PAC05 bus.
After a two-week free trial period, busway commuters who work in buildings along the 12.9-kilometer corridor from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta, will start paying for the trip on Tuesday, although unresolved flaws might cause a commotion at shelters.
Fares for regular buses serving the city's terminals range from Rp 1,200 (14 U.S. cents) for unair-conditioned buses to Rp 3,300 for air-conditioned ones. Switching to a busway service from a city bus costs Rp 2,500 one way, bringing the total range to between Rp 3,700 to Rp 5,800.
Passengers, however, can save up to Rp 2,000 on the feeder service.
Tickets sold on feeder buses cost Rp 2,900 for unair- conditioned buses and Rp 3,800 for air-conditioned buses, inclusive of the busway fare.
Comprising two stubs, one stub is to be given to the feeder conductor and the other exchanged for a single-trip ticket at a busway shelter.
Feeder-plus-busway tickets and busway-only tickets are sold at all busway shelters, as well as at seven major bus terminals: Kalideres, Pulogadung, Tanjung Priok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Lebak Bulus and Blok M.
On Monday, however, the ticket counter at the Lebak Bulus bus terminal was far from ready to service passengers. As a Jakarta transportation agency officer explained, the agency's health clinic at the terminal would sell tickets, but not until next week.
At the Blok M bus terminal, twin ticket booths were already installed in the underground hall, but were vacant and nonoperational. Passengers thus had to purchase tickets at the busway shelter at the terminal.