Mayasari Bakti Denies Rumours That TransJakarta Driver's Leave Denial Caused Gatot Subroto Accident
TransJakarta bus operator, Mayasable Bakti, has provided clarification regarding rumours circulating about the cause of a bus accident on Jalan Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, on Thursday morning (3/9). The operator denied reports suggesting that the accident occurred because the driver’s leave request was not approved.
The Head of the Mayasari Bakti Cijantung Depot, Dadan Sutaprana, emphasised that the primary cause of the incident was the driver being drowsy while driving, rather than issues regarding work permits.
“The driver’s leave was not actually unapproved; it was drowsiness,” Dadan stated when confirmed by reporters on Thursday (3/9).
Dadan explained that the driver in question was in mourning after a family member passed away in the Kemayoran area on Wednesday (2/9) night. It is strongly suspected that this caused the driver to lack sleep due to staying awake at the funeral home.
“There was news that his aunt passed away last night in Kemayoran. The point is, he may have stayed up all night in Kemayoran. This morning, he likely lacked sleep, but he forced himself to operate,” he explained.
Mayasari Bakti expressed regret over the driver’s decision to continue working despite being physically unfit. According to Dadan, the company has procedures in place to replace drivers if personnel feel unable to work due to health reasons or exhaustion.
“If he had just been honest and said, ‘Sir, I am sleepy, I cannot operate,’ I would have certainly replaced him. It would not have been forced,” Dadan asserted.
Furthermore, Dadan confirmed there were no records of leave applications from the driver on the day of the incident. He emphasised that in emergency situations, such as a death in the family, drivers only need to contact the operator via telephone or WhatsApp to request permission to be absent from duty.
“Yes, there was no (leave application). For instance, if he said, ‘I stayed up all night because a family member died,’ he could just say it in the morning via WhatsApp or phone. ‘I cannot work because I lack sleep.’ That would be enough, and I would replace the driver with someone else,” he added.
As a result of the incident, which caused the bus to collide with another vehicle in front of it, the driver involved has been temporarily suspended from operational duties. Management is also conducting an evaluation and addressing the damage to the bus fleet.
Regarding material losses, Dadan mentioned that there is a mechanism to charge losses to the driver if the accident is proven to be caused by negligence. However, at this time, the total value of losses resulting from the Gatot Subroto incident is still in the final calculation stage.