Rawamangun to have inter-city bus terminal

Rawamangun to have inter-city bus terminal

JAKARTA (JP): The East Jakarta branch of the City Land Transportation Control Agency is planning to convert Rawamangun bus terminal into an inter-city terminal to accommodate buses from North Sumatra.

Abdul Halim, the head of the branch office, said that a trial of the new policy has gone on for two months. Currently there are a total of 28 bus companies, which ply the Jakarta-North Sumatra route, using the terminal.

Halim explained the policy as an effort to solve the problem of illegal inter-city bus terminals which draw protests from the public due to the commotion and traffic jams they cause.

He said that efforts by a special police team to close down the illegal terminals were not effective enough to eliminate them. As soon as one series of raids was over, the terminals would start operating again.

"This is the main problem. We have to play hide and seek with them without any real solution. Therefore the head of the agency issued a permit to the Rawamangun bus terminal to try out the policy," Halim told Antara news agency yesterday.

Halim said that illegal bus terminals have also caused financial losses to the municipal administration due to route permit violations and because the city cannot collect terminal levies.

He said that the agency will ask the Directorate General of Land Transportation to change those companies' route permits if the tryout shows a good result.

He added that the Rawamangun bus terminal is not very busy with city bus traffic. Only around 12 city buses on various routes, including PPD P12, plying the Rawamangun-Grogol route; RMB-55, plying the Rawamangun-Pasar Baru route, and PPD AC P-16 plying the Rawamangun-Grogol route, use the terminal.(yns)