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)