Minibuses will enforce closed door policy

Minibuses will enforce closed door policy

JAKARTA (JP): City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto
said yesterday that the closed-door policy for minibuses will be
fully enforced starting on Jan. 3.

"The police will no longer tolerate any bus crews refusing to
close the doors because we have given them enough time to prepare
their vehicles," Hindarto told reporters yesterday at the City Hall
after a sanitation competition awards ceremony.

The closed-door policy, part of the 1992 Traffic Law, requires
that the crews of public transit vehicles throughout the capital
city, including minibuses, close their doors during operation to
ensure the safety of passengers.

A similar ruling has been enforced among large buses in the
city. All public transit companies are subject to the rule. The
enforcement of the rule on minibuses, such as the KWK buses owned by
the Wahana Kalpika Cooperative, the Mikrolet, and Angkutan Perkotaan
buses, was postponed following a large-scale strike by their drivers
last September.

Hundreds of drivers of the 30-seat Metromini buses staged
strikes citywide, paralyzing traffic and leaving thousands of
commuters stranded in protest at the enforcement of the regulation.

In response to outcries from minibus drivers and owners, the
police finally postponed the imposition of the ruling so as to give
them more time to prepare to fully comply with the new policy.

Hindarto also said that the police will fine minibus crews, who
violate the regulations, based on the new fine scale, which ranges
from Rp 15,000 (US$7) to Rp 150,000, depending on the offense.

"We will not give any warnings. We will fine all violators,"
Hindarto added.

Secretary of the Wahana Kalpika Cooperative Edi Toras told The
Jakarta Post yesterday that his organization is ready to deal with
the enforcement of the regulation.

"Around 2,000 out of our total 3,557 vehicles have thus far
been equipped with special handles, controlled by the drivers to
automatically open and close the doors," he said.

"I am optimistic that the remaining buses will be ready by
Jan.3," he added.

Edi explained that the cooperative charged Rp 40,000 (US$18.28)
for the installation of each handle.

Previously the Jakarta chapter of the Land Transport Owners'
Organization recommended that owners use only a special handle,
which can be installed in just an hour. The equipment worth Rp
75,000 each, is available at Ave Maria workshop owned by FX Jacobus
Jut in Bekasi.

The recommendation hampered the process of equipping minibuses
with the handles because the owners complained about the high cost
of the device. They claimed that they could get similar equipment at
much lower prices at other workshops.

Due to this reaction, the organization changed its policy to
allow the owners to choose any type of handles they wanted for their
vehicles themselves. (yns)