Hire your own bus, travel in comfort and style

Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta

With such poor public transportation options in the city, it is better that you rent a whole bus from a bus rental company if you want to provide transportation for a group that is guaranteed to be comfortable.

Dozens of companies have engaged in the rental business. But those offering buses in good condition and equipped with air conditioners and other facilities are still limited in number.

Blue Bird Group, PT Hiba Utama, and Kramat Djati are among the few with an established reputation in the business. They provide buses on an hourly and daily basis, for employee pick up or long- distance trips.

"We also pick up international school students, diplomatic guests, and serve the transportation needs of local and international companies and industries. We have even provided buses for evacuation purposes!" Said Nugroho A. Yogi, sales executive at Big Bird, a sister company of Blue Bird.

The buses vary in size and price, depending on the destination, facilities, and maximum hours of rental. Big Bird's air-conditioned buses have 12 seats, 23 seats, 25 seats, 44 seats or 59 seats (non-reclining). Buses of 44 seats and 39 seats are equipped with a TV and VCD player while buses of 39 seats have bathroom facilities. There are also non air-conditioned buses with 54 seats.

To further relax the passengers and ensure their safety each of the buses is equipped with radio communication, reclining seats and highly trained drivers.In most cases, the buses can be chartered to travel throughout Java, Bali and Sumatra.

The rental fee of an air-conditioned bus with 23 seats is about Rp 555,000 for six hours, or Rp 780,000 for 12 hours (within the city only).

For a 44-seat air conditioned bus, the cost is around Rp 830,000 for six hours (within the city) and Rp 1.17 million for 12 hours.

"The price includes a driver and gasoline but not the toll fees and parking fees," Nugroho said.

In addition, PT Hiba Utama offers an executive bus that is so well equipped it has a sofa, meeting room, TV, mini bar, refrigerator, tape-deck, CD player, Video, VCD player, karaoke facilities and a telephone. It has 22 seats and comes with a caravan including a kitchen set, wash basin, TV, and toilet.

Hiba also provides air-conditioned buses with 25 seats, 31 seats, 54 seats, and 60 seats and non air-conditioned buses with 25 seats and 59 seats.

The company also has luxury buses with 12 seats; a six hour trip within the town costs Rp 590,000. Buses with 16 seats and 24 seats can be rented for Rp 4.2 million for 15 hours (inside the city), while a 22-seat bus rate is Rp 3.6 million. If you hire the bus for an additional period the price will be negotiated according to the base rate (i.e 10 percent for every hour).

Another company, Kramat Djati provides buses with 28 seats, 22 seats, and 40 seats, complete with facilities like air conditioners, reclining seats, TV, tape-deck, Video, and VCD while the Neoplan bus also has a toilet.

Neoplan can be rented for Rp 2 million for a maximum of 16 hours (trip outside the city) and Rp 950,000 for a maximum of five hours in the city on the weekend, or Rp 800,000 during the week.