Pupud Saripudin, a dedicated driver

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Becoming part of the intensely discussed busway project is more than just a question of pride or making a better livelihood for a bus driver like Pupud Saripudin.

It is a chance to show the public that a bus driver too understands what that sacred word professionalism means -- a conviction born out of his concern about the widespread impression that Jakarta's bus drivers are reckless and lawless.

"I want to show the public that bus drivers can also drive with a high level of discipline and expertise, while providing premium service as well to their passengers," said 42-year-old Pupud recently, prior to the launch of the TransJakarta Busway on Thursday.

For sure Pupud's remark will come as a relief for those who are concerned about the city's poor public transportation service for it does not come from a smooth-talking politician but it comes from someone who has in fact spent more than a decade plying Jakarta's streets.

Pupud, the father of three children, has not a single traffic violation on his record.

Pupud was one of the 100 bus drivers who was nominated for the city's best bus driver award last year and the only one from his Steady Safe bus company, making him his company's number one candidate to be trained as a busway bus driver. He later joined the training at the National Police Traffic Training Center in Serpong, Tangerang, with 115 other drivers for the busway project.

"I feel honored, and will try to do my best," he said, as he buckled up before adeptly test-driving one of the buses around the training center.

Born in Cimahi, West Java, Pupud said that he had little choice, anyway, than to strive to be the best he could.

"All I am skilled in is driving buses, and maybe a little bit of engine tinkering. So I might as well give my whole soul to it," he said.

Like so many other urban migrants coming from small towns to the big city to try their luck, Pupud came to Jakarta in 1979 to look for work to put himself through school.

"Since I couldn't afford to pay my senior technical vocational school (STM) fees, I decided to go find work in Jakarta rather than burden my parents," he said.

Arriving at the capital, Pupud was lucky enough to get a job as a mechanic at an auto repair shop through some of his hometown friends.

"It was an auto repair shop for those American jeeps. You know, those Willys jeeps," he said, adding that it was there that he first learned how to drive.

Pupud's driving experience broadened when his employer asked him to drive delivery trucks for a chemical plant, as well as occasionally drive buses for his family outings.

In 1985, Pupud's employer gave him a reference to work with Big Bird, Blue Bird Group's chartered bus division, before he finally joined Steady Safe buses in 1993.

Pupud worked for 10 years at Steady Safe; seven years serving the Lebak Bulus-Senen route, before the route was expanded to Depok-Kota by his company three years ago.

In September 2003, it turned out that his driving was being discreetly monitored by officers from the Jakarta Transportation Agency and the Jakarta Police traffic division.

"I didn't know I was being monitored. I only knew when my company notified me that I was summoned by the transportation agency but I didn't know what I was being summoned for," he recalled.

Two weeks of extensive training on traffic regulations, driving skills and etiquette in October 2003 was what the transportation agency summoned Pupud for, as they had chosen him as a model bus driver.

"It was similar to training I received at the training center in Serpong back in 1995. And afterwards, we received the honor of being accepted by the governor at City Hall, and were then awarded as the city's best bus drivers for 2003," Pupud said.

But he did not become complacent after receiving the award, as he now felt that he had an even greater responsibility of upholding his professionalism as a bus driver.

"I would feel so humiliated now if I was honked at by other motorists or if passengers complained about my driving," he said.

Pupud has also become more critical since he received his training, particularly about certain traffic regulations where he has direct knowledge and experience as a public transportation bus driver.

"If the government wants bus drivers and passengers to comply with Law No.14/1992 on highway traffic that requires all buses to stop only at shelters, then they have to make sure the shelters are built at convenient locations," he said.

Meanwhile, concerning the busway project itself, Puput expressed hope that the public support it, though he also understood the criticism toward it.

"Please give us a chance to show that we can be good drivers," he said, as he stepped out of the busway bus he just test drove.

Residing in a modest house in Bekasi, Pupud admits that he has high hopes that the prestigious project can also improve his welfare.

While one should of course keep an eye out for any emerging flaws of the project, one should also think again before merely canning it without cause, as many ordinary, or "little people" -- are pinning their hopes on it.

And the dedicated bus driver Pupud Saripudin, is but one of those "little people".