City to get more private buses

City to get more private buses

JAKARTA (JP): More than 100 new buses will start operating in the city soon, Herman Tonglo Langi, head of the City Traffic and Transportation Control Agency, said yesterday.

Ten of the new buses are owned by private company PT Bianglala, 25 by PT Mayasari Bakti, 12 by Mastrans, 40 by Giri Indah and the remaining 25 by the minibus cooperative KWK, Herman said without giving details on the routes of the buses.

Herman said that all drivers of the new buses would attend a training course to be held by his agency from April 25 to May 9.

"All expenses for the training course will be paid by the drivers' companies," he said.

Herman told reporters that 51 new buses had begun operations over the past few months.

Thirty five of the 51 buses are operated by PT Bianglala and serve people traveling between downtown Kota in West Jakarta and Ciledug in Tangerang and those commuting between Kota and Blok M in South Jakarta. Eleven of the 51 buses are operated by the city-owned bus company, PPD, and travel between Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta and Kota, while the remaining five are run by PT Mayasari Bakti between Kampung Rambutan and Kalideres in West Jakarta.

The latest additions are part of the 1,000 new buses to be operated by both the PPD and private bus firms to transport the increasing number of passengers in the city. (31)