Plan to merge city buses hailed
JAKARTA (JP): City councilors and a private bus company hailed plans of the city administration to merge the state-owned bus company, PPD, with private companies in order to improve its services to the public.
"If the main goal is to improve the transportation management, the proposal should be supported," Muhammad Rodja, councilor from the United Development Party, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Councilor Sahala P. Sinaga of the Indonesian Democratic Party said that everything must be calculated before the merger and if services could be improved by the move then it should be approved. Otherwise the idea should be dropped if it only causes more inconvenience to commuters.
"We have to avoid the possibility of travelers in urban areas having difficulty in getting public transport," Sinaga said.
Deputy Governor for Economy and Development Tubagus M Rais said recently that a team is now studying the possibility of merging city bus companies as an integral part of efforts to improve services to the public.
Jakarta, the most populous capital city in Southeast Asia, is home to eight million people by night and 10 million during office hours with the arrival of commuters.
Over the years PPD has suffered great financial losses due to bad management. According to its management, some 1,400 PPD buses cruise Jakarta's streets every day. But informed sources said that PPD operates only 900 buses, saying that 500 of its fleet are idle due to mechanical problems.
Meanwhile private companies state that they are ready to manage PPD if a proposal to merge with them is made.
"Our company is ready to manage PPD because for years it has suffered great losses. It's a pity that a big company like that could experience a loss," Toto, an executive of PT Bianglala Metropolitan, told the Post.
He explained that PPD could improve its performance if the management were handed over to private companies and services were improved.
An executive of Masstrans bus company said that PPD could use the skill and expertise of private companies' management to better its performance.
"The PPD could use our skills and expertise in providing better service to users," an executive who refused to be named said.
Joint operation
On the other hand the management of private companies opposed the possibility of a joint operation due to an imbalance in revenues, assets and management systems.
"I don't think the proposal for private companies to jointly operate buses will give us more profit because there might be a company which is in bad shape which would require us to cover their losses," said Tursino, an executive of PT Arion which operates 50 buses, yesterday.
He explained that his company is not afraid of the proposal to operate gas-powered public buses in the city as long it does not affect Arion's routes.
"But I believe the government will manage it fairly," he said.
Toto also opposed the possibility of a join operation saying that it would impair his company.
"Why should we merge the company while our performance is good?," he said, adding that this kind of merger will only benefit companies with poor performance.
The state-owned bus company, PPD, recently announced that it is studying proposals from a number of private companies to jointly operate more than 1,000 gas-powered public buses in the city.
PPD said that some private companies, including the Senawangi business group and PT Fajar Utama Mandiri, have submitted their proposals to jointly operate the gas-powered buses.
The executive of Masstrans buses said that to merge, private bus companies will need to compromise a lot. "There should be compromise in managing the buses and the people because each company has a different management system," she said.
She gave an example her company implements which is a system in which every employee is required to fulfill a target drawn by the company and are given incentives.
"High incentive is needed to motivate them," said the executive of the company which operates 48 buses. (yns)