Nuryana--a bus conductor who wants to make a difference

Nuryana--a bus conductor who wants to make a difference

By Andreas Harsono -- 10 pts Metrolight l/c

JAKARTA (JP): Unlike other Jakarta bus conductors who fail to
provide their passengers with comfort and safety, 20-year-old
Nuryana Suparman is a responsible conductor who places her
customers first.

Many passengers who watch her in action on the air-conditioned
buses of the privately-run Masstrans executive bus company attest
to her positive attitude.

"A woman with a good manner," said one regular rider.

Nuryana is one of dozens of female conductors currently
employed by PT Steady Safe, a land transport company which
operates 18 Masstrans buses.

Every other day, Nuryana arrives at her office in Lebaklubus,
South Jakarta at 5 a.m. and works straight through to 10 p.m.,
making five round trips between Lebakbulus and Senen, Central
Jakarta.

Her main duties include collecting passenger fares, managing
the bus's daily financial report and answering queries from
riders, Westerners included, about Jakarta's streets.

To ensure a more comfortable trip, the bus company prohibits
smoking, a rarity in Jakarta where most of the male population
smokes.

Nuryana and her colleagues must work hard to enforce this
rule. Some passengers react angrily when they are reminded not to
smoke.

At the end of the day, Nuryana deposits the money, usually
some Rp 600,000, with a cashier and files the daily financial
report before calling it a day.

"My daddy always takes me to the office early in the morning
and picks me up later," said Nuryana, the youngest of two
daughters.

The native Jakartan claims that she enjoys her job because it
is "challenging" and she wants to prove that not all bus staff
are reckless and irresponsible.

Many buses operating in the capital, especially those run by
private companies, are already run-down and decrepit, prompting
people to question whether they are still worth operating.

Nuryana, who was raised in a clerical family, said that her
parents deserve credit for her sterling job performance. They
taught her that maintaining strict self-discipline is the key to
living a meaningful life.

During her school years, her grades were always among the
best, and this has carried through to the present. "Nuryana is
one of the best employees here," beamed Datin Rashidah Nor, the
vice president of PT Steady Safe.

Nuryana, who last year graduated from high school, sees her
current job as a place to adopt sound work ethics and make
friends.

On her days off, Nuryana sometimes visits the families of the
drivers and security personnel, whom she considers part of her
own.

Masstrans deploys three personnel on each bus: a driver, a
security guard and a female conductor. "The security guard is
important to prevent pickpockets and other criminals from
entering the bus and making passengers feel insecure," Roshidah
said.

Police officer

Nuryana initially wanted to become a police officer or a
flight attendant, "My mama, however, objected to my career
choice. She wanted me to work as a clerk in an office instead."

Masstrans is known for its good customer service although its
customers ultimately pay for this. Masstrans charges five times
the standard bus fare of Rp 250.

"My customers usually wear ties," Nuryana said bluntly,
referring to white-collar commuters who work in Jakarta but live
in the suburbs, adding that Masstrans limits seating to 54.

Nuryana's mother, however, has repeatedly voiced concern that
her baby daughter is too tired to work 16 hours every other day.

"Mama worries that I spend most of my time in the street,"
said the conductor in her purple uniform and floral scarf.

Her mother finally agreed to her career choice when Nuryana
convinced her that her fears were unfounded, and that the pay is
quite attractive.

After all, Rashidah said that Masstrans is doing its part to
better Jakarta's shoddy public transportation system.

People like Nuryana indeed play a role in helping transform
the public's image of transport services in the capital.

Nevertheless, customers are sometimes annoyed when they are
forced to wait for a long time at bus stops. Buses often run
behind schedule because of traffic jams.

While also irritated by the daily traffic congestion, Nuryana,
however, keeps her emotions in check and soothes passengers by
telling them that the situation is "beyond our control."