Public bus system substandard, needs overhaul

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A recent accident in which 19 people were killed on a Sinar Jaya bus in Slawi, Central Java, could lead officials to launch an overhaul of the public transit system, which is corroded by illegal fees and weak control over the quality of service.

An improvement in the public transit system would start with public buses as they transport the majority of passengers traveling overland.

Many public buses are far from being safe or comfortable for their passengers, putting them at an unnecessary risk of receiving poor treatment from the bus crew or becoming a victim of a fatal accident, said one activist.

"The government has failed to ensure that passengers are treated as human beings who deserve safety and comfort," said Tulus Abadi, an activist with the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI).

He blasted the entire public transit system, which he said was in a shockingly poor state.

Demand for illegal fees is evidenced throughout the transit system, starting from route licensing to regular checks performed on public transit vehicles for their road worthiness.

"Regulations for public transit licensing are so weak, and their implementation is often tainted with corruption, resulting in crowded public buses on certain routes," said Tulus.

Irresponsible licensing results in fiercer competition among operators of public buses and other public transit vehicles, he said.

The authorities, he said, also failed to supervise operators of public transit vehicles, and this likely lead to poor driver recruitment and the use of run-down or poorly maintained vehicles.

All these factors are common causes behind rampant traffic accidents. Unless these factors are addressed, fatal traffic accidents will continue to haunt the country, where public roads are also poorly maintained.

According to records from the state traffic insurance company PT Jasa Raharja, at least 50 people are killed every day and hundreds of others are injured across the country, many in bus accidents.

Last year, for example, traffic accidents claimed the lives of 19,241 people and injured some 44,612 people. That figure has increased from the total for 2001, in which 18,140 people were killed and 35,959 were injured.

Jasa Raharja said that the accidents cost the company a total of Rp 232 billion (US$25.8 million) in insurance last year and Rp 140 billion the previous year.

"Stiff punishment, including long jail terms and hefty fines, need to be imposed on careless operators and drivers to satisfy the public over the rise in traffic accidents," Tulus said.

Meanwhile, the head of the legal division at the Directorate General for Land Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, Bambang Suyono, blamed the current fiasco in the transit system on Law No. 14/1992 on transportation.

He said the law became outdated with the introduction of regional autonomy. Moreover, the law gave too much authority to the police and less to his ministry, with the bulk of responsibility falling on his office.

He said his office was drafting a bill to adjust the 1992 Transportation Law to the Autonomy Law and thus give public vehicle operators and passengers stronger legal grounds to act on.

A sociologist with the University of Indonesia, Paulus Wirutomo, said that with the current situation, people could not expect the Ministry of Transportation, the police or even stronger regulations to improve the transit system.

Paulus said that the people had to act to help create a safe, comfortable transit system.

In many cases, he said, passengers were too meek when bus drivers, conductors or operators behaved inappropriately.

"When a driver starts speeding or driving recklessly, passengers decline to protest out of fear they will be harassed or rebuked by the driver or other crew members," he said.

He said there were some instances when the public got out of hand and burned the buses, resulting in a loss of human lives. But that was more an immediate reaction rather than a premeditated one to pressure bus operators to provide better services, he said.

Paulus stressed the need for passengers to unite and act as a group in pressuring the drivers, their crew as well as bus operators to be more responsible.