State transportation firms asked to improve services

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Administrative Reforms T.B. Silalahi urged state transportation companies yesterday to improve their poor service.

"State-owned transportation firms are slower to improve service than other firms like (the electricity firm) PLN and (domestic telecommunications carrier) PT Telkom," he said after inspecting a new telecommunications service center on Jl. Supomo, South Jakarta, yesterday.

He said Telkom and PLN used high-technology equipment to provide better service.

"I understand that many people are still far from satisfied with transportation services even from Garuda and Merpati," he said.

"As far as I know, no state-owned transportation firm has ever won an award for public service."

The ministry of transportation oversees 17 state enterprises including Garuda Indonesia airlines, Merpati Nusantara airlines, the Jakarta public transportation company Perum PPD, the railway firm Perum Perumka and oceanliner PT Pelni.

Telkom's centers, officially launched yesterday by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, are in Tebet and Cinere.

They offer one-stop general service (information and complaints), educational services (display and sales of telecommunications equipment), and telecommunications service (new installation, complaints and registration changing).

General manager of Telkom's Jakarta office, Guntur Siregar, said the service centers were opened with an investment of about Rp 750 million for property renovation and equipment installation.

The new centers use siska, a data base with applications for customer service orders, plant facility management, fault repairs, workforce management and billing. (icn)