Jakarta needs more buses

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta still needs more non-Patas buses, a House member insists.

Ali Marwan Hanan, from Commission V for communications, transportation, public works, tourism and public housing, said yesterday that there are less non-Patas buses than Patas buses.

Patas stands for cepat (express) and terbatas (with limited seats).

Speaking while leading a team of House members visiting City Hall yesterday, Ali said that many people could not afford Patas buses.

"They depend on non-Patas buses. But I find that Jakarta still has few regular buses."

The tariff for non-AC Patas bus is Rp 600, and Rp 1,300 for the air-conditioned Patas bus. The fee for regular or non-Patas bus is between Rp 250 and Rp 300.

Jakarta has 7,900 large and medium sized buses to serve its nine million residents. There are 18,000 taxis and around 10,000 Mikrolet (12-seat vans).

Most large buses belong to the state-owned PPD and operate under the auspices of the Ministry of Transportation.

According to 1994 records, more than 100 million people used PPD buses last year.

Ali asked the Jakarta administration to discuss the possibility of increasing the number of buses with the ministry. (sur)