Practice makes perfect for rookie busway drivers
Practice makes perfect for rookie busway drivers
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Busway driver Ronny Sugiarto was guided in maneuvering his bus a
little to the right, releasing the gas pedal and approaching the
shelter in front of Al-Azhar Mosque, South Jakarta, on Saturday
evening. He finally made a slightly jerky stop.
"Still a bit too far," said instructor Muhar, as he told Ronny
to open the bus' hydraulic door and inspect the distance between
the bus and the shelter's platform.
A distance of less than 15 centimeters was expected from all
the drivers in training. This is considered to be a safe and
convenient distance for passengers to step from the bus to the
shelter's one-meter-high platform.
"It's quite difficult. I was afraid I would hit the rear-view
mirror, or even worse, scrape the shelter if I maneuvered too far
to the right," said Ronny.
Aligning the door of the bus with the shelter's automatic
doors was another difficulty faced by the drivers.
"It would really help if there were markers to indicate
exactly where we should stop," said Sudirman Silitonga, another
driver.
During the night 126 drivers took a bus for a test-drive, five
days away before Jan. 15, the day the busway is due to hit the
road.
At all 23 shelters wooden sticks had been set up as temporary
markers. While they indicated where a Hino bus should stop,
several of the 20 buses used that night were longer Mercedes-Benz
buses.
It was also still unclear whether permanent markers would be
installed later on.
Many of the drivers had never driven a Mercedes-Benz bus
before. With only Hino buses available at the National Police
Traffic Training Center in Serpong, Tangerang, drivers grappled
with familiarizing themselves with the Mercedes-Benz buses.
"But then, even experienced drivers need some time to adjust
themselves to a new type of vehicle," said Sanusi, who has over
10 years experience as a driver of trucks and buses.
Another problem for the drivers was apparently the confusing
dashboard.
"With no conductor to assist us, we really need skill to
operate all those dials and controls, while keeping our
concentration on the road," said Silitonga.
Each bus will have a security guard, but their duty will not
include assisting the driver.
As training concluded for the night, several drivers expressed
their concern over the monotonous, eight-hour shift that they
will undertake each day.
"Not that I'm already complaining, because the job will in
fact provide me with a better livelihood, but I can already
imagine now that I will work somewhat like a robot," Sanusi said.