Plan to merge city buses hailed
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)