Steady Safe still off the road

JAKARTA (JP): PT Steady Safe, a transportation firm controlled by businessman Jopie Widjaja, met with the City Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ) to resolve the temporary suspension of the company's buses on city roads.

The agency has suspended the operation of 215 air-conditioned buses of Steady Safe since early this week because the company failed to operate regular buses.

The company reported to the Capital Market Supervisory Agency and the Jakarta Stock Exchange that the operation of the buses was suspended because the government wants Steady Safe to operate 40 percent of its fleet as air-conditioned buses, 30 percent as express buses and the remainder as regular buses.

"Because there are a lot of things to be done to meet the agency's requirement, we can only afford to operate 20 regular buses," the company said.

On the allegation of renting out buses without a license, the company said: "In late June we provided 80 air-conditioned buses for the minister of research and technology to support the Indonesia Air Show 1996."

"The operation permit of those buses was granted by the government," the company said. (alo)