Hundreds of bus drivers strike, more will follow

JAKARTA (JP): More than 250 Mayasari Bhakti bus drivers went on strike on Monday, and hundreds of others are rumored to join on Tuesday to demand a bus fare increase to compensate their dwindling income from the fuel price hike.

The strike by Mayasari bus drivers, the largest contingent of buses in the city, left thousands of people stranded at hundreds of bus stops across the city, usually serviced by Mayasari buses.

Several stranded passengers told The Jakarta Post on Monday that they had to wait about one hour or more to get transported by public buses, other than Mayasari buses.

"Most buses from Kampung Rambutan were full this morning," Endang, a resident of Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, said.

According to the head of the city's Social Disturbance Control Office, Raya Siahaan, 267 Mayasari bus drivers, mostly from Cijantung pool, East Jakarta, joined the strike.

Luckily, the strike ended on Monday afternoon following a meeting between Mayasari executives and officials of the City Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ).

Following the meeting, Mayasari's director for operations Azis Trismaya Mahfud urged his drivers to resume operations, saying their demands for a bus fare increase would be delivered soon.

"We will propose a fare increase shortly of at least 20 percent," Azis said.

Nevertheless, there are rumors that hundreds of bus drivers will strike again on Tuesday. A number of bus drivers said that they had been told by their employers to strike to demand the 20 percent fare increase.

The city administration has prepared hundreds of vehicles, including 440 buses and trucks from the Jakarta Military Command, to transport stranded passengers if the strike materializes on Tuesday.

"We heard that bus drivers would strike tomorrow. We are ready to transport the stranded passengers if they really conduct the strike," DLLAJ chief Rustam Effendi told reporters at the City Hall.

City Governor Sutiyoso pledged to take stern action against bus operators who instructed their drivers to strike since the public would suffer.

"They should not do that as it could be considered as an act of 'sabotage' against the public. They should not use drivers for their own interests," Sutiyoso told reporters.

Some bus drivers who were interviewed separately by The Jakarta Post on Monday, refused to join the strike planned for Tuesday.

"What will we eat if we join the strike on Tuesday?" Siagian, a driver of a Steady Safe bus plying the Kampung Melayu-Grogol route said.

However, Siagian agreed that the bus fare should be increased following the increase in fuel prices.

"Our income has dropped since the fuel price increase," he said.

With a daily bus rental fee of Rp 360,000 and daily fuel costs of Rp 100,000, he said he could only bring home between Rp 15,000 and 20,000.

Before the fuel price rise, Siagian said he could earn between Rp 25,000 and Rp 40,000 a day. (jun/04)