Passengers demand better service before fare hike

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Wawan must spend more money on transportation because the bus between his home and workplace takes a detour from its stated route, so he must alight and get a minivan to reach his destination.

"Everyday I go by Kopaja B93 bus plying the route from Cengkareng in West Jakarta to Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, but the driver makes a detour into Roxy, West Jakarta, meaning that I have to take another minivan to reach my workplace in Tanah Abang," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

An apparel trader at the market, Wawan has to spend Rp 2,000 (US$0.22) to get there, when in fact he should only have to spend Rp 1,000 if the bus complied with its mandatory route.

Bus drivers abandoning their passengers is but one example of how bus operators in Jakarta have not served the public interest.

Apparently turning a blind eye to the services that they have yet to improve, bus operators with the public transportation operators association (Organda) recently demanded a 50 percent increase in bus fares, and threatened to suspend their operations if the demand was not met.

"It has happened in the last five years, and still persists until now," Wawan said, referring to the tactics used by bus drivers to drop off passengers before completing their route.

He said that the first time he experienced it, he had to argue with the bus crew who would finally help find another bus for free.

"But over time, they simply didn't care anymore and we (passengers) just grew tired of arguing with them all the time. We resigned to finding other public transportation to reach our destinations," Wawan said in dismay.

He was quick to add that the same thing happens when he heads home from work at night.

"I take Kopaja B95 bus plying the route from Tanah Abang to Kalideres in West Jakarta, but the driver just stops the trip in Cengkareng instead.

This means that those who live in Kalideres, must take another bus before they can arrive at home at a decent hour," he said, adding that passengers had to take three different vehicles from Tanah Abang to Kalideres bus terminal.

Given the high cost resulting from the bus drivers' unwillingness to complete their routes, Wawan said that his neighbors in Cengkareng -- a couple who also own a stall in Tanah Abang market -- had decided to move to Kota Bambu in Central Jakarta which is adjacent to the Tanah Abang market.

There is not much passengers can do about such problems with the mandatory routes, said an elderly man on board of a bus plying the route from Tanah Abang to Senen in Central Jakarta.

"If there are only two passengers left on the bus, and it is still halfway to the bus terminal, the driver will just drop them off. If the passengers are lucky enough, the conductor will find another bus for them," said the man, who wished to remain anonymous.

He also pointed out that traffic jams had also prompted bus drivers to abandon the routes which they are supposed to take.

"Some buses plying the route from Grogol in West Jakarta to Kampung Rambutan in South Jakarta has to make a turn in Cawang, East Jakarta, because of the heavy traffic congestion on the way to the bus terminal," he told the Post.

Both, however, agreed that the route violation showed a negligence on the part of bus operators to the rights of passengers in getting a decent service.

"Organda has done nothing to improve the service for passengers, therefore their demands for a fare increase is unjustifiable," Wawan said.