Developers welcome idea of added bus service
Developers welcome idea of added bus service
JAKARTA (JP): The idea proposed by the PPD state-owned bus
company to provide public transportation services to newly opened
housing estates was warmly welcomed by developers yesterday.
PPD aired the proposals to help the thousands of commuters in
Tangerang who have to ask for private rides due to the
insufficient number of public buses operating in the area.
PPD officials said that the developers had never proposed to
them the idea of bus service.
"It is possible to cooperate with PPD to provide
transportation for our housing complex, but we will first study
the plan," Teguh Pudjowigoro, the sales and marketing director of
PT Royal Sentul Highlands in Bogor, West Java, told The Jakarta
Post yesterday.
Teguh said he had never been approached by PPD, but said that
he gladly welcomed the idea.
Sentul Highlands operates 18 executive shuttle buses for the
Bogor-Jakarta route, Teguh reported, adding that his company
plans to increase the number to 50 in 1996 and 100 by the end of
1997.
To cooperate with PPD, which is subsidized by the government,
he said some factors should be considered. "There should be
appropriate tariffs and satisfactory services."
He questioned whether PPD could provide air-conditioned buses
for the Bogor-Jakarta route at a fare rate of Rp 5,000 ($2.2) per
passenger.
General manager Suprobo Hartono of Ciputra Development told
the Post yesterday that developers should participate to bring
the plan to fruition.
"Cooperation between PPD and the developers is a good idea,
but I think developers have never thought about it before,"
Suprobo said. He added that the availability of public bus
service at the housing complex would make the community livelier.
However, some developers, in Karawang, for example, have
worked with local government officials to avoid the need of
special transportation services.
Teguh and 16 other developers yesterday also signed an
agreement with PT Telkom to provide 5,000 telephone lines for
residents purchasing houses built by the developers. (03)