DLLAJ urges use of portable scales

DLLAJ urges use of portable scales

JAKARTA (JP): While observing the continuing destruction of
the city's streets, the City Traffic and Land Transportation
Agency (DLLAJ) proposed on Friday the use of portable scales to
interdict overloaded trucks operating on the streets.

DLLAJ head Buyung Atang said his office had asked the city
administration to provide 25 portable scales to conduct immediate
operations against overloaded trucks.

"The central government has banned the operation of scaling
stations, making it difficult for the agency to check on
overloaded trucks," Buyung told reporters on the sidelines of a
ceremony marking the departure of Jakarta's football team
(Persija) to Brunei Darussalam to participate in a football
tournament at the neighboring country from Feb. 28 until March 8.

"The portable scales will enable the agency to stop overloaded
trucks at any spot," he said.

Residents have long complained of deteriorating city streets,
mainly since the economic crisis hit the country in mid 1997.
They place the blame for the damaged streets mainly on the
overloaded trucks.

Buyung, however, did not deny the possibility that such
practices would enable DLLAJ officials to create different forms
of corrupt and colluding practices by asking for "levies" from
the truck drivers.

"The best thing to do is for the drivers to report such
practices to my office," he said.

The official hinted that his agency had conducted operations
to net notorious truck drivers with minimum personnel and
equipment.

"DLLAJ Jakarta only has 200 personnel to control more than
50,000 public vehicles here. It's absolutely not enough to
conduct a one-by-one vehicle inspection," he said.

He said his agency has fined 1,193 buses and other types of
public vehicles for violating traffic regulations from November
last year until January this year.

Buyung said his office was committed to upgrading the
performance of agency officials by dismissing employees incapable
of performing their duties.

"For instance, we'll replace six heads of city and intercity
bus terminals next Monday (Feb. 28) mainly because they have
failed to carry out their duties," he said.

"They're responsible to uphold public order in the terminals
from street vendors, pickpockets, hoodlums and the like and also
to maintain the terminals' tidiness," he added, while hinting
that the terminal heads had failed to do so.

He said the replacements would affect the city's major bus
terminals of Cililitan, Kampung Rambutan, Pinang Ranti and Pulo
Gadung in East Jakarta, Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta, and Tanjung
Priok in North Jakarta.

Emission testers

In an effort to improve air quality in Jakarta, Buyung said
his agency would deploy portable emission testers to check on
vehicle emissions.

"Governor Sutiyoso has agreed to provide 25 emission testers
in the 2000 fiscal year. Each agency's mayoralty office will get
five testers," he said.

"The number is still insufficient to test all vehicles in the
city. But, we'll do our best to keep the pollution level low," he
added.

Public vehicles in the city, especially city buses, are known
for their dark thick exhaust smoke due to lack of maintenance.

Buyung, however, said that such smoke wasn't necessarily the
sign of an engine's poor condition. "The engines need to be
tested with emission testers before their exhaust can be
categorized as dangerous." (nvn)