Operator Clarifies Viral Report of Driver's Leave Being Denied Before Transjakarta Bus Collision
The Transjakarta bus operator, PT Mayasari Bakti, has spoken out regarding the incident where a Transjakarta bus collided with another Transjakarta bus in Pancoran, South Jakarta, yesterday. Mayasari Bakti stated that the driver was sleep-deprived and had attempted to request leave via WhatsApp, but the request was not granted.
This statement comes in response to viral reports claiming that the Transjakarta driver involved in the Pancoran accident was not permitted to take leave before the incident occurred. The Head of the Mayasari Bakti Cijantung Depot, Dadan Sutaprana, noted that the driver did not submit a formal leave application through the official system.
“In reality, the driver’s claim regarding the leave request is not entirely accurate. According to our regulations, leave must be formally applied for, as is standard practice elsewhere. For instance, if someone wants leave for next week, they must submit a form to HR starting from now, and I would certainly sign it if they still have remaining leave balance,” said Dadan.
He explained that the driver had indeed messaged his superior via WhatsApp, requesting permission to attend a funeral. “He sent a WhatsApp to the operations officer saying, ‘Boss, I am requesting leave to attend a funeral for a relative.’ The operations officer did not grant that specific request, but that does not mean a formal leave application was denied.”
He added that an investigation into the accident is already underway. Based on the examination, including CCTV footage, the driver is suspected to have been drowsy while driving. “It is possible that after that, he went to the funeral and perhaps stayed up late. Even though he knew he had to work the next day, he ended up with insufficient rest and lacked sleep. Consequently, he became drowsy, which led to the collision. So, it is not a matter of a leave request being denied,” he said.
Previously, the accident involving two Transjakarta units occurred in Pancoran, South Jakarta, on Thursday (3/9). Passengers from the bus were evacuated to the Tegal Parang station.
“PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) offers its apologies for the incident involving two units from the Mayasari operator, namely MYS 17021 (Corridor 9) and MYS 18190 (Route 9A) in the Pancoran area towards Pluit today,” said Ayu Wardhani, Head of Public Relations and CSR at Transjakarta, when asked for confirmation on Thursday (3/9).
The accident occurred at 08:18 WIB. The buses involved in the collision have been evacuated, and no casualties were reported in the incident.