Five busway drivers fired amid city denial

Five busway drivers fired amid city denial

Damar Harsanto and Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While hundreds of Jakartans are still enthusiastically trying out
the newly launched TransJakarta Busway every day, five of the 126
busway drivers were fired.

A staffer from the Jakarta Transportation Agency at the busway
bus pool in Pinang Ranti, East Jakarta, said that they were fired
because they had turned up late for work and had been involved in
accidents.

However, busway operating consortium PT Jakarta Express Trans
(PT JET) operational director Payaman Manik Raja said that only
three drivers resigned rather than being fired. He declined to
state the names or reasons.

The busway drivers -- most of whom are the best from bus
operators in the city and who had undergone a week-long training
session at the National Police traffic training center -- had
earlier demanded higher payment by PT JET. They had thought
earlier that Rp 2 million (US$238) was their basic monthly salary
but were disappointed after finding out that it was their take-
home pay. They demanded the consortium pay them at least Rp 2.7
million.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said earlier he would "replace them
with other drivers".

Sutiyoso also told the busway operator to impose tough
sanctions on drivers involved in accidents due to reckless
driving.

"If necessary, they can be dismissed. If no tougher action
were taken, other problems would follow," he said on Monday.

Sutiyoso was referring in particular to a busway driver whose
air-conditioning unit hit a railway bridge on Jl. Matraman Raya,
East Jakarta, on Friday. The road does not lie ion the busway
corridor from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta.

A staffer at the transportation agency said a replacement air-
conditioning unit would cost around Rp 80 million.

Busway management head Irzal Z. Djamal said that he had warned
PT JET about driver negligence that might lead to damage of the
buses.

"I warned them not to repeat their mistakes. I also told them
to repair the damage because the buses must be in good
condition," he said.

According to PT JET, up to three buses need repair every day.
Broken handrails and out-of-order automatic bus doors are the
most common damage. Seven of the total 56 buses have already been
damaged and are temporarily out of service.

Meanwhile, drivers of buses whose routes overlap the busway
corridor are prepared to strike in protest at the city
administration's policy in rerouting them.

"We shall park our buses outside the presidential palace and
hold a big protest there if necessary," said a Ciputat-Kota bus
driver, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said most bus crews that served routes that overlapped with
the busway supported the strike plan.

Currently, 149 buses ply seven routes that overlap the busway
corridor. The routes have been scrapped by the administration to
make way for the busway.

He said the drivers had planned earlier to strike on Jan. 12,
prior to the busway's launch on Jan. 15, but canceled the
proposed action after the administration allowed them to run
their routes as usual.

"But we have heard that we shall be forbidden from overlapping
the busway route," he said.

The driver also rejected any plans to transfer their routes to
others because such plans would simply raise protest from bus
crews that had served the routes for a long time, amid tighter
competition and reduced income.

Bus crews from different companies have also expressed concern
at the possibility that they would no longer be allowed to
overlap any part of the busway corridor along their route.