Implementation of closed-door policy difficult
Implementation of closed-door policy difficult
JAKARTA (JP): More than two months after the policy requiring
public transit vehicles to have their doors closed while in
motion was introduced, bus drivers are still complaining.
"We find it unfair that if we are found running with doors
open, the police simply stop us, ticket us based on a list of
fines and turn deaf ears to our pleas and explanations," a driver
told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
His complaint was supported by most drivers of the Kopaja
Number T-505 buses, which serve the Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta-
Taman Puring, South Jakarta route.
The driver, who asked for anonymity, said that he and his
friends preferred the old method to the present one.
The driver added that, "We would be happy if the former trial
procedures were applied again."
"Formerly we were tried at courts if we were found guilty of
violating traffic laws. The judges listened to our explanations
and imposed lighter fines if our explanations were acceptable,"
the driver said, supported by his friends.
"But now, the law is so rigid. We have no opportunity to
defend ourselves, but are simply forced to pay," one of his
friends said.
"If we demand that we be tried in court, the police usually
say that the judges are not in and that trials cannot be held,"
another driver said.
Fine
The traffic law dictates a Rp 20,600 (US$9.5) fine for the
violation. "But because the police are always making things
difficult for us, we often resort to bribing them," he added.
The closed door ruling, along with other rulings, which oblige
drivers to wear uniforms and to place their driver's identity
cards inside the windshield, was introduced by the City
Transportation and Traffic Land Agency (DLLAJ) in May following
an accident, which killed 33 people when a Metromini minibus
plunged into a river in North Jakarta.
"The police won't issue us tickets if we agree to pay them at
least Rp 5,000," he said.
One of his friends added that formerly the police would accept
Rp 3,000 as bribe for not ticketing them, but now they must pay
Rp 5,000 at the very least. The police sometimes even force them
to pay Rp 10,000, he added.
The city police could not be reached for comment.
Drivers also blamed violations on the attitude of passengers.
"Sometimes the doors are opened by passengers who, deliberately
or not, do not close them again," another driver said.
"Drivers and conductors cannot, of course, control whether the
doors are open or not all of the time," a driver said. (arf)