Minister tells PPD bus firm to improve public service
Minister tells PPD bus firm to improve public service
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto
has asked the newly inducted board of directors of the city bus
company PPD to take proper measures to improve its service to the
public.
"PPD, as a state-owned company, should take a leading role in
efforts to better serve the public," Haryanto said.
Antara reported that the minister was referring to frequent
complaints from consumers regarding PPD in particular and poor
transit service to the city's population of 8.5 million in
general.
In order to improve its image, Haryanto underlined the
necessity for the new board of directors to manage the company in
a professional manner in line with the concept of modern
management.
Haryanto said the Ministry of Transportation
will take whatever measures it can to help the PPD management
achieve its noble objective and role as stabilizer of public
transportation in the city.
"But the help should not make the board of directors so
complacent that they assume that the government will lend its
hand in case anything goes wrong with the company," Haryanto
said.
In a major reshuffle affecting top echelon employees of the
company, Haryanto inducted Brig. Gen. (ret) Soedarko as PPD's new
president on Tuesday replacing Col. Yahya Subandi, who had been
in the post since 1990.
The minister also installed Col. Djatsantoso as PPD
operational director, Nur Usman as financial director, Prijo
Soebiandono as technical director and Anwar Delmy as general
affairs director.
During the induction ceremony, Haryanto also installed Vice
Marshal T.B. Jogyanto as an expert staff member to the minister,
Col. R. Mohamad Buchary as administrator of Tanjung Perak harbor
in East Java and Col. Suyono Dipo as the administrator of
Ujungpandang harbor in South Sulawesi.
No comment
Haryanto would not comment on the reasons behind the reshuffle
at PPD, which operates more than 1,400 wide-bodied buses in the
greater Jakarta area.
But an informed source said that only 900 PPD buses ply
Jakarta's streets every day because many of the buses in the
fleet are idle due to mismanagement.
The minister also urged the PPD management to explore the
possibility of a better, wider scope of cooperation with private
companies to develop its transportation business and to repair
its idle fleet.
The company has signed a cooperation agreement with a company
under Humpuss Group to repair and manage its double-decker buses.
Haryanto also asked PPD to explore the possibility of
cooperating in line with a government sponsored proposal to
operate around 1,500 new gas-powered buses in Jakarta. (09/has)