Control needed at new bus stations

Control needed at new bus stations

JAKARTA (JP): The Deputy Governor in charge of development
affairs, Tb. M. Rais, has suggested using a "closed system" to
improve public order at bus stations.

"Under this system only bus passengers are allowed to enter
the station compound," he told reporters at City Hall yesterday.

Rais added that the system would also help better organize
the management of the bus terminals.

"The point to be considered is how to offer better service to
passengers as well as road users," he said.

After comparisons with airports and railway stations, Rais
said that the situation in many bus terminals was similar to that
of a marketplace. Kampung Rambutan, for example, is one of the
most chaotic and disorganized terminals.

Rais was commenting on the planned construction of a bus
terminal in Rawabuaya, West Jakarta, to replace the Kalideres bus
terminal, which is no longer suitable to present conditions.

The city administration is currently exploring the possibility
of building a modern terminal instead of a traditional one in
Rawabuaya.

Rais fully supported the idea although he readily acknowledged
that it would cost much more.

"If we build traditional terminals just to save funds it will
put us at a disadvantage later," he said, citing the Kampung
Rambutan terminal as a case in point.

"All additional terminals to be built by the city should be
constructed in a such a way that non-passengers cannot freely
enter the terminal compounds," Prawoto Danoemihardjo, an
assistant to the city secretary, said recently about the
establishment of the Pulogebang bus terminal in East Jakarta.(32)