Drive for money leads to bus accidents

Urip Hudiono and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Two public buses plying the same route wait in line for a red light to change at a busy intersection.

The driver of the second bus has two choices left: let the first one go ahead and take all the passengers waiting ahead of the traffic lights, or, seriously better, rev up the engine and overtake the bus in front, even if it means endangering his passengers and other motorists.

"We have to try to get as many passengers as we can, in any way, so that we can meet our targets and get a decent income, even if it means being abused by everyone for reckless driving," said Encep, a public bus driver who was waiting for passengers while taking a break with his fellow drivers at the Kampung Rambutan bus terminal in East Jakarta on Friday.

Many bus companies require their crews to pay a rental fee -- ranging between Rp 700,000 (US$ 75.59) and Rp 1 million -- before they get anything for themselves. Others use a commission system, in which the crew members get a percentage of the daily earnings.

"But the commission system is just the same," said Encep. "If we don't get the minimum number of passengers, we could get suspended and lose even more of our earnings."

A bus crew -- consisting of a driver and two assistants -- can usually make Rp 200,000 in a single round trip on their route. They find it hard to meet their daily revenue targets due to the city's worsening traffic jams. A driver can work up to 15 hours a day, from 6 a.m. through to 9 p.m., taking only short breaks in between terminals.

The habit of passengers to wait to board at places other than bus stops, the drivers said, encouraged them to violate traffic laws.

"I have even picked up officers -- who should know better -- stopping my bus near toll road gates," Encep said, adding that many drivers ignored pleas by passengers to take it easy.

The poor condition of the buses, the fact that most of the drivers got their driver's licenses by bribing the traffic police and that they often hand over the wheel to their assistants whenever they feel tired leads to vehicular accidents.

The latest accident was on Aug. 15, when a Mayasari Bakti bus, speeding from Bekasi to Kalideres on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, suddenly swerved into the opposite lane, hitting another bus and a pick-up truck, leading to the death of 14 people, and 33 other passengers sustaining injuries.

Little has been done by the police and the local government transportation agencies to ensure the safety of passengers.

The Jakarta Traffic Police said they don't have reliable data on the number of bus accidents caused by reckless drivers. The police can only say that from January to July there were 2,631 vehicular accidents, in which 586 people died and 1,508 suffered serious injuries.

Officials from the transportation agency said they would investigate the problem of bus companies deploying defective vehicles, thus leading to accidents. Many bus companies, however, say that their buses have passed the yearly roadworthiness tests from the agency, and that they also conduct routine checks on their vehicles.

The drivers also complain about the public's tendency to run amok whenever an accident involving their buses occurs.

"Many drivers flee an accident scene because they are afraid of being mobbed by the crowd, even if they were not actually the guilty party, or the accident was inevitable due to a vehicle malfunction," said Jaja, another bus driver.

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List of major bus accidents in Greater Jakarta:

Date Place Cause Casualties Notes

Aug. 15, 2004 Jakarta-Cikampek toll road unknown 14 killed, 33 injured Driver died May 15, 2004 Wiyoto Wiyono toll road burst tire 2 killed, 4 injured Runaway driver arrested on Aug. 14 March 5, 2004 Ciawi, Bogor reckless driving 3 killed, 1 injured Jan. 25, 2004 Jakarta-Cikampek toll road unknown 7 injured Jan. 9, 2004 Jakarta-Cikampek toll road reckless driving 3 killed, 6 injured Jan. 4, 2004 Jakarta-Cikampek toll road reckless driving 5 killed, 42 injured Jan. 3, 2004 Jakarta-Cikampek toll road unknown 1 killed Sole casualty was truck driver. Dec. 21, 2003 Jakarta-Cikampek toll road burst tire 2 killed Dec. 11, 2003 Jl. Sudirman, Dukuh Atas reckless driving A motorcycle driver killed Sept. 19, 2003 Jl. Diponegoro, Menteng reckless driving 35 injured Aug. 29, 2003 Jakarta-Tangerang toll roadreckless driving 1 killed, dozens injured July 15, 2003 Jakarta-Tangerang toll roadreckless driving 6 killed, 34 injured June 10, 2003 Jagorawi toll road burst tire dozens injured April 21, 2003 Jakarta-Cikampek toll road reckless driving 11 killed, 23 injured Dec. 12, 2002 Jl. Daan Mogot, Tangerang reckless driving 3 killed, 40 injured Dec. 8, 2002 Cileungsi, Ciawi, Bogor reckless driving 3 killed, 1 injured June 29, 2002 Cisarua, Bogor reckless driving 2 killed, 13 injured Runaway driver was arrested on July 1 June 24, 2002 Wiyoto Wiyono toll road unknown 1 killed, 15 injured June 3, 2002 Cisarua, Bogor faulty brakes 1 killed, 39 injured

Source: Media reports