City to investigate disappearing buses

City to investigate disappearing buses

JAKARTA (JP): Deputy governor of economic and development
affairs Tb. M. Rais asked the City Land Transportation Agency
yesterday to investigate why some regular buses have disappeared
from their designated routes.

Some buses reportedly do not reach their final destinations,
while some buses are not in evidence at all.

Bus companies' inability to cover operational costs with the
current fare was one of the reasons why the buses were scarce.

Operational and maintenance costs have increased due to
increases in fuel and oil prices.

The fare for regular buses was set by the government at Rp 300
(12 U.S. cents) in April last year. Gubernatorial decree no.
572/1996 was also issued to back up the Ministry of
Transportation's decision on the fare.

Asked about punishing bus companies for not servicing routes,
councilor Romulus S. Sihombing of the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) faction said yesterday that the administration should take
stern action against bus companies that arbitrarily drop routes.

"The disappearance of some regular buses is evidence that the
companies lack social responsibility," he said.

Councilor Amarullah Asbah of Commission C for financial
affairs expressed understanding of how the current bus fare did
not allow bus companies to cover their costs.

"If there is a need to adjust the fare, propose a new one," he
said.

PDI spokesman Lukman F. Mokoginta claimed people would not
object to an increase in the fare as long as it was commensurate
with the level of services provided.

"People wouldn't mind if the fare was set at, for instance Rp
1,000, as long as the bus was safe and comfortable," he said.

City Land Transportation Agency data revealed that some
regular buses from Mayasari Bakti and Bianglala bus companies had
totally stopped operating quite some time ago.

Only three of Mayasari Bakti's 19 regular buses plying
Rawamangun-Blok M route were operating, while according to the
company 11 of them were operable.

Mayasari also got permits to operate seven buses on the
Kampung Rambutan-Kebayoran Lama route, and nine on the Pulo
Gadung-Pasar Minggu route. However none of the buses operate.

Records also indicate that only seven of Mayasari's 20 buses
with permits to ply Kampung Melayu-Bekasi route were still
operating.

Another bus company, Bianglala, had failed to operate its
regular buses on the Lebak Bulus-Kampung Melayu and Lebak Bulus-
Manggarai routes. (ste)