Commuters want more buses

Dozens of commuters working for government agencies and private firms in the city are complaining of having difficulties getting buses in the afternoon due to a lack of city buses plying the Tanah Abang-Bekasi route.

"We have to wait for an hour or more for the bus to come," said a Bekasi woman working for a private company on Jl. MH Thamrin, adding that the lack of city buses was felt after the state-owned bus company PPD decided to change the operation of its air-conditioned buses from Tanah Abang-Bekasi to the Tanah Abang-Kota route.

The Tanah Abang-Bekasi route is now served only by the Mayasari Bhakti express buses.

Suprapto, 34, another Bekasi resident working in Jakarta, agreed there is a problem.

Suprapto said he not only spends more time on the road but also pays more for travel expenses because he must to take a bus from Jl. MH Thamrin to Cawang, East Jakarta, and then change buses there. (has)