PPD's history goes back to Batavia as a tram firm

PPD's history goes back to Batavia as a tram firm

JAKARTA (JP): Like it or not, PPD city buses have become a
part of daily life for many Jakartans.

Thus, any kind of strike by PPD drivers or crew always bring
thousands, if not millions, of commuters in the capital to the
alert, as well as the local authorities.

The state-owned Pengangkutan Penumpang Djakarta (PPD),
literally meaning Djakarta (old spelling style for Jakarta)
Passenger Transportation Service, was under the supervision of
the Jakarta Administration for 20 years until Dec. 31, 1980.

Its history stretches back to 1925 when the burgemeester
(mayor) of Batavia (the capital's name during the Dutch colonial
times) Voorneman suggested a merger of the two existing tram
firms, namely Nederlandsch Indische Tram Maatschappij (NITM) and
Bataviasche Elektrische Tram Maatschappij (BETM).

The new company, called Bataviasche Verkeers Maatschappij
(BVM), received new buses and was designed to manage all trams
and buses previously owned and operated by NITM and BETM.

Shortly after the arrival of the Japanese forces in 1942, the
new invaders set up a new firm named Djakarta Shiden, which only
focused its service on city trams. All city buses previously
operated by BVM were seized by the Japanese and used for other
purposes.

But Djakarta Shiden lasted less than three years, following
the defeat of the Japanese in World War II.

Just one day after Indonesia proclaimed its independence on
Aug. 17, 1945, a number of Djakarta Shiden employees -- with
strong support from the Pemuda Menteng youth group -- forced the
Japanese authorities to hand over all city trams to the local
administration. On Aug. 20, 1945, the capital witnessed the
handover of the ex-Djakarta Shiden trams to the newly-founded
Indonesian government. The trams were then managed by a special
division under the Jawatan Kereta Api (Railways Company).

The "return" of the Dutch soldiers, this time with their
allies, in 1947 brought BVM back to the city, which was
reestablished to manage the trams that were a major
transportation means in Jakarta at the time.

The name BVM was quite popular among city commuters for at
least seven years until June 12, 1954 when the government,
through the nationalization scheme of the Ministry of
Transportation, took it over and on Dec. 12, 1954 introduced its
new name: Perusahaan Pengangkutan Djakarta, or PPD.

The new firm received several donations, including from
Australia's Leyland Buses ahead of the Colombo Plan meeting.

Following president Sukarno's instruction in 1960 to ban trams
in the capital, the company focused its business on city buses.

In accordance with the implementation of a new law on state
companies, the government founded a firm called PN PPD
(Pengangkutan Penumpang Djakarta) on June 29, 1961. On Sept. 1 of
the same year, the new company was handed over to the Jakarta
Administration.

Twenty years later, the government via the Ministry of
Transportation, took over the running of PPD. Just recently,
however, the ministry has attempted to establish a more suitable
status for the company.

Although many Jakartans have called on the ministry to allow
the Jakarta Administration to take back PPD, many are worried
that the firm would only place a further burden on the city's
budget, as the company has been noted for its poor management.

City councilor Sayogo Hendrosubroto said the idea of taking
over the company should be studied thoroughly as PPD still has
huge debt and poor management.

"We have to put the bus company on the agenda ahead of the
regional autonomy, but we have to study the possibility carefully
as we all know the company has a lot of debt and we have to
consider whether we can guarantee better management if we take
over the company," Sayogo said.

By February this year, the company had reportedly incurred
some Rp 49.6 billion in debt in an effort to cover its
operational costs.

As a record, PPD suffered losses of around Rp 29.7 billion in
1996 and Rp 18.9 billion in 1997.

The latest massive strike of PPD's drivers and administration
staff, which ended on Monday after four days of non-stop
striking, was not the first ever to be held by the drivers, their
assistants or colleagues at the firm.

For years, PPD employees have had different reasons to stage
strikes but the most common issues were related to problems
caused by the company's poor management and financial condition.

According to the workers, they usually filed their complaints
with the PPD management, legislators and related ministries but
their pleas always fell on deaf ears.

In February 1996, they visited the House of Representatives to
seek help to clarify their uncertain status and poor working
conditions.

In March 1998, they staged a protest at the PPD head office,
demanding better treatment and the resignation of some PPD top
officials.

Three months later, hundreds of them went on strike again over
demands for better wages. They claimed that employees who had
been with the firm for 10 years were still only paid Rp 150,000 a
month.

The latest strike was triggered this week by the reluctance of
the Ministry of Finance to disburse the Rp 13 billion that was
supposed to be allocated for the insurance and pension fund of
all of PPD's 5,500 employees.

The strike ended after the Ministry of Finance promised to
disburse the disputed fund soon to the PPD employees. (bsr)