No settlements reached as drivers continue to strike

JAKARTA (JP): Students arrived home late and passengers spent thousands of rupiah on fares as drivers in Bogor continued to strike. As of late yesterday, a settlement had not been reached.

Police arrested five people, including four drivers and one bottled-water vendor, for instigating the protest which involved all city bus routes. A representative of Organda, the Organization of Land Transportation Owners, said 20 vehicles were damaged on Tuesday.

Like the previous day, people had to walk a long way to get to where they were going. "I spent Rp 12,000 today on an ojek (motorcycle taxi) fair," one passenger said.

The Bogor City Council was full of demonstrators, including university students and drivers, who were mostly of the Sukasari- Merdeka route.

"Stop exploiting us," one banner said. A driver said drivers had to pay Rp 30,000 to bus owners everyday, plus a daily levy of Rp 3,000. Rumors of additional buses plying the route triggered the strike, drivers said.

In Jakarta, most drivers had resumed working except M06 drivers plying the Gandaria-Kampung Melayu route in East Jakarta.

However a meeting between employers' representatives and the City Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ) that took hours, both at the agency office in Central Jakarta and at the Jakarta Military Command, failed to reach an agreement.

A representative who requested anonymity said the agency demanded cooperatives to pay more attention to the welfare of members.

The agency also requested all cooperatives to provide uniforms and identification cards for all drivers, he said.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja called on minivan drivers yesterday to stop their strike and resume services. He said public bus firms were also being selfish.

"More buses provide better services for the public, but bus owners consider it a reduction of their profits," Surjadi said.

He said all should prioritize public interests ahead of their own. He reiterated that the strike harmed families of drivers as well, and hampered the activities of those who depend on public transportation.

Cooperatives include Kopamilet, Komilet, Purimas Jaya, Kawisa Jaya, Kojang Jaya and Budi Luhur. According to a Kopamilet employee, many cooperatives work independently and without any coordination.

Drivers of M16 minivans plying the Pasar Minggu-Kampung Melayu route, M01 minivans on the Senen-Kampung Melayu route and M31 minivans on the Pulogadung-Kampung Melayu route had resumed service and traffic jams returned. Cooperative managements had promised drivers that the problem of too many buses which they had complained about would be discussed today.

Dozens of M06 van drivers plying the Gandaria-Kampung Melayu route were on strike for their second day.

M06 drivers complained to legislators that too many illegal vehicles (omprengan) took their passengers.

They also demanded DLLAJ to stop issuing new permits since the existing fleet of 350 vans was too big for the route.

The Kampung Melayu terminal in East Jakarta was full of people waiting for M06 buses.

An employee, Yanti, said she was forced to use an ojek to get to her workplace in the Cililitan area.

She said she had spent Rp 10,000 (US$4.10) for the ojek over the past two days.

"I usually only pay Rp 400 when I use the minivans for one trip," she said.

Drivers of Metromini B92 plying the Grogol-Joglo route also resumed work yesterday.

"Everything is under control now," said T. Silaen, the operational director of PT. Metromini, whose orange buses ply many routes throughout the city.

He said the drivers' protest was "exaggerated" because they had complained that new B17 buses run by the Koperasi Wahana Kalpika (KWK) cooperative had taken about 300 meters of their 18- kilometer route.

"People (drivers) can strike when a new bus fleet tries to operate in about 50 percent of a route," he said.

According to a gubernatorial decree, all public transportation vehicle owners should register their vehicles with a cooperative.

Mahmud S. Chaniago, an Indonesian Democratic Party member at the City Council, blamed the additional buses on some city routes as one of the reasons for the strikes.

"We want an explanation on the matter and we want to know whether there's a study to support municipality policies (in adding buses)," Mahmud said at a council plenary session.

"We also want an explanation on the municipality's coordination with minivan owners," he said. (jun/10/ste/24)