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.