Closed door busing policy remains in effect

Closed door busing policy remains in effect

JAKARTA (JP): A city police officer says that the ongoing ruling which requires the doors of public transit vehicles to remain closed while in motion will remain in effect.

The temporary exemption from the ruling for Mikrolet and other buses with fewer than 12 seats as well as those operating on the outskirts of the city will soon end, Col. Hotman Siagian, head of the City Traffic Police Directorate, said.

"Officers of related institutions are currently studying which of the three prototypes now being tested is the most effective and low-cost model," Hotman told reporters here Wednesday evening.

When the officers have completed their work, all public transport vehicles which are currently being exempted from this closed-door policy must be equipped with the selected model for closing the doors while in motion, he explained.

Owners and drivers of such vehicles have strongly protested the ruling, stating that they could not find appropriate additional equipment for closing the doors of their vehicles.

They complained that they could not hire anyone to help them close the doors because they would have to share their daily earnings.

"Should I get out of my car to close the door every time a passenger boards?" Hotman quoted one driver as complaining.

All three prototypes, taken from various sources, including those used by public transit vehicles in Bandung, West Java, are currently being studied jointly by officers from the City Police Headquarters, the City Traffic and Land Transportation Control Agency and the Association of the Land Transportation Owners' Association.

"We have agreed not to set a deadline for the studies as well as the use of the selected prototype because we are worried that certain parties would take advantage of this," Hotman said.

Hotman also insisted that vehicle owners be allowed to make their own tools as long as they conform with basic requirements and are safe for passengers.

Asked to comment on public complaints about the ruling, he jokingly replied, "If the air inside the bus becomes hotter due to the ruling, why don't they get a truck?"

Hotman said that the problem can be solved as long as the passengers and bus crew show the will to cooperate with each other.

"Ask them to open the windows and refrain from smoking. It's really quite simple," he said. (bsr)