'City should manage own transport'
JAKARTA (JP): City Council speaker M.H. Ritonga said over the weekend that the council should manage the city's public transport.
"The municipality knows more about the city's transportation needs," Ritonga said.
He said transport problems could be solved immediately if the municipality managed it.
Earlier, former Jakarta Governor Wiyogo Atmodarminto said the city should take over the management of state bus firm PPD from the government.
This would improve public transport services, he said.
Ritonga said currently the city had to consult with the government before taking action to solve transport problems.
"It's not effective and it is inefficient," Ritonga said.
He said in the long run the city could also set transport fares for city buses.
The Minister of Transportation sets fares now.
Ritonga cited the city's Land Transport Control Agency's lack of authority to deal with PPD's violations.
He said the process in which the Agency recorded violations and reported them to the Ministry was inefficient.
The result of this was that bus firms punished for violations believed the system was unfair, he said.
While the Agency could immediately punish violating private bus firms by suspending them, the Ministry would be late in punishing PPD.
This happened when PPD was among firms found violating government-set fares last Idul Fitri.
Wiyogo said that when he was governor between 1987 and 1992, the former minister of transportation, Azwar Anas, agreed to let the city manage PPD.
The deputy governor for economic and development affairs, Tb.M. Rais, said the city did not plan to take over PPD.
He said the city would have to be sure of PPD's financial position before even thinking about a takeover.
Currently, only 1,771 of the PPD's 2,565 buses operate. The rest are broken.
Of the 1,771 buses, 190 are AC limited passenger buses, 820 non-AC limited passenger buses and 761 are regular buses.
PPD said it lost about Rp 810 million (then US$368,181) in 1995 because of students damaging buses. (ste)