Passengers stranded due to strike

TANGERANG: Hundreds of passengers were stranded on Wednesday morning, as drivers of public minivans serving the Ciledug to Cikokol route had been on strike since Tuesday afternoon.

The drivers protested the municipality transportation agency plan to increase the number of vehicles serving the same route. They said that more minivans would mean less income per vehicle.

The drivers claimed that they could take home only Rp 15,000 (US$1.74) to Rp 20,000 per day.

"It's not enough to feed our families," said driver Lukman.

A total of 241 minivans serve the 12-kilometer route daily.

The agency's public transportation affairs head Nurochmah said that she knew nothing about additional vehicles on the route. She gave an assurance that the agency had not issued permits for additional vehicles on the route. However, she promised to seek further information from the municipality's Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda). -- JP