Four buses to be provided for Tangerang students

Four buses to be provided for Tangerang students

TANGERANG (JP): The Tangerang administration is planning to
provide four special buses to accommodate students who have been
complaining of a lack of transportation.

Tangerang Mayor Djakaria Machmud said the Tangerang
Legislative Council has approved the plans.

Speaking after inducting Musholien Harjono as the new chairman
of the Tangerang Post Office on Saturday, Djakaria said the
number (of the buses) may be inadequate and thus asked for
patience.

"It's only an initial step. We hope that private
transportation companies will also think about providing buses
especially for students," Djakaria said.

The mayor attributed this problem in part to the "reluctance"
of bus drivers to carry students because they are only paid half
of the normal fare.

Two of the four buses will be deployed to serve students along
Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, Cikokol, where there are 12 schools at
the moment.

According to the head of the Tangerang education and culture
office, H. Warsa, at present there are around 80,000 junior high
school (SMP) and high school (SMA) students in Tangerang.

Thousand of students living in Tangerang are stranded every
day at bus shelters waiting for buses to take them home.

Many are then forced to walk down the streets for kilometers
because the buses fail to turn up. Even if they do appear, many
bus drivers seem unwilling to stop for them.

"If we opt for students we will not be able to pay our rental
fees. So I'd rather choose passengers who are not students,"
Tutur Suryadi, one of the drivers, told The Jakarta Post.

Due to a lack of public transportation vehicles, students are
frequently forced to ride in trucks or other private vehicles,
which force the students to jump from the moving vehicles when
they want to get off.

Stranded students also tend to gather in large numbers, which
often results in brawls.

Teguh Setiawan, who passes the area on his way to work
everyday said it is horrifying to see such large numbers of
stranded students.

A number of teachers and headmasters whose students face
difficulties in transportation share Teguh's view. "We can still
control them in schools. But outside the school complexes, it is
difficult for us to supervise," they said. (13/bas)