Metro Mini drivers stage protests against new fines

Metro Mini drivers stage protests against new fines

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of drivers of the 30-seat Metro
Mini buses staged sit-in strikes in East and South Jakarta
protesting the new ticketing fine scale, which is much higher
than the one previous imposed.

The strikes were carried out at bus terminals at Pondok Kopi,
Pulo Gadung and Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta and Pasar Minggu
in South Jakarta. They paralyzed traffic in the two areas and
left the bulk of passengers stranded at terminals and bus stops.

Most of the protesters pointed out that the new fine scale,
which was made effective on Sept. 1 and was announced by the City
Police last week, was outside of their ability to pay.

"Normally, we earn Rp 15,000 (US$6.90) per day and perhaps Rp
25,000 on our best day," said Manurung, a senior Metromini driver
plying Kampung Melayu-Pulogadung route.

"So, where do we get the money from if the police fine us Rp
125,000 just for leaving the doors of the bus open?" He said that
the passengers are to be blamed for the open doors.

Previously, the fines for similar violations were set at Rp
15,600, to be paid to BRI bank, with another Rp 2,000 for a
"peace settlement" with police in order to get back documents, he
said.

When asked by reporters to comment on the strikes at his
office in the afternoon, City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hindarto
refused to comment.

PT Metro Mini president Amir Harahap said that the management
made an announcement to all owners and crews of the buses
yesterday, asking them to keep on operating the armada.

Simandjuntak, another driver of the orange minibuses who was
ticketed Saturday for violating the closed-door rule, said that
many traffic police liked to hide at a certain spots so they
could ticket the drivers.

"Sometimes, we are not aware of their identities when they
wear their black jackets," he said. "They just take our documents
away without explaining our violations and ask us to meet them at
a certain spot."

Facility

According to Rizal, a driver plying Kampung Melayu-Pondok
Bambu, the authorities should also think about the needs of the
public and not just try to find mistakes.

He said that, in his opinion, there are too many roads which
have no bus stops.

"When we stop at a place where there's no bus stops the police
will ticket us, but the passengers 'force' us to let them off at
these places. It's a real dilemma for us," Rizal said.

According to Amir, the management has told drivers and owners
of the buses to operate their vehicles without staging protests.

"We'll take their problems and bring them to the highest level
to find a solution," Amir told reporters here yesterday.

However, the drivers said they could not end their strike.

"If we let the police continue ticketing us under the new fine
scale, will Amir want to spend his money to buy rice for our
family?" asked Manurung.

Amir said that a number of personnel from the City Police
headquarters have intensively begun ticketing traffic violators
in East and South Jakarta since Monday.

Metromini drivers are mostly ticketed for leaving the doors of
their mini buses open while they are in transit.

"We just want to know why the police only do it in these two
areas?" he questioned.

Maj. Gen. Hindarto denied Amir's charges saying that the
implementation of the new fine scale is carried out throughout
the city.

After meeting with reporters, Amir was called by the
authorities to attend a meeting at the East Jakarta district
military command office to discuss about the strike.

By the evening, no information about the meeting was
available.

Recently, the head of the City Traffic Directorate, Col.
Soeroso, asked the public to identify traffic police officers who
asked for bribes from violators or used unlawful procedure during
the ticketing process.

Manurung said: "It's nonsense to report a police officer to
another officer."

No explanation

Ginting, also a driver in East Jakarta, said that sometimes
the police ticketed them without giving any explanations of their
crime.

Following the massive strikes, thousands of passengers, mostly
consisting of students and employees, were stranded since the
morning.

The protesters also caused other vehicles, including
taxis and buses, to halt. They were also seen forcing other
Metromini buses to stop and asking the passengers to get off.

The police then stopped trucks and asked their drivers to pick
up the stranded passengers.

In Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, police were deployed to handle
the situation and arrested two drivers for questioning.

J.P. Sepang, head of Land Transportation Control Agency, said
that his office would deploy 100 buses owned by PPD, Damri and
Mayasari Bhakti to help overcome the crisis.

He said that the buses will be guarded by police and army
officers to avoid the possibility of vandalism by protesting
drivers. (bsr/yns)