Tangerang minibus drivers foul up traffic with strike
Tangerang minibus drivers foul up traffic with strike
TANGERANG (JP): Hundreds of public transit drivers parked their minibuses in the middle of Jl. Kelapa Dua Raya, Karawaci, causing an eight-hour traffic jam and stranding passengers.
The almost half-day strike against the use of prohibited routes by truck drivers, whom the protesters claimed bribed officials, stranded thousands of people, including workers whose company buses were trapped in the traffic snarl and residents waiting for public transit vehicles.
The line of backed-up traffic -- more than 10 kilometers long -- stretched from the Karawaci tollgate in front of the Bimantara Islamic Village, along Jl. Kelapa Dua Raya and Jl. Bojong Nangka Raya.
The protesters were minibus drivers and conductors plying four main routes to the Bumi Kelapa Dua housing complex, to Bojong Nangka, to Legok and to Anggris. All of the routes pass along Jl. Kelapa Dua Raya and Jl. Bojong Nangka Raya.
The strikers told The Jakarta Post that they were complaining about the huge number of trucks and other heavy-weight vehicles that were plying roads they were prohibited from using.
"Drivers of the trucks dare to enter these roads because they bribe officers at the Revenue Office Rp 2,000 (US 93 cents) per trip although the sign forbidding their entry is located just in front of the post," Ali Arifin, 29, one of the protest leaders, told the Post.
Under local regulations, trucks are required to take another route, the way through Bitung.
A truck driver, who got stuck in the middle of the massive congestion, said he paid a bribe of Rp 2,000 for entry into the forbidden area.
The protesters also demanded that the Tangerang Revenue Office close its new post which is located in front of the Karawaci tollgate. They complained that the long line of trucks waiting to pay fees at the Revenue Office post causes daily traffic jams.
Sand quarry
The transit vehicle drivers also want the authorities to immediately take action against the trucks loading and unloading sand every day along the sides of the roads. They claim this exacerbates traffic problems and damages the roads.
"We're tired of complaining about these problems to the Tangerang municipality as they never give responses to our complaints. So, we hope this massive protest will motivate some action on this old situation," Man, 34, another protester, said.
Several passengers and other motorists shared the protesters' views although they had to face for possible fines from their employers for being late due to the traffic jam.
"We were hoping for a protest like this several years ago just to give lesson to the greedy revenue officers," a lawyer, who refused to be named, said.
Ideal conditions
Under ideal traffic conditions, she said she could reach her house in Bojong Nangka from the tollgate in 20 minutes, but due to the illegal presence of the trucks, she always had to spend another one or two hours to get home.
According to the protesters, they could not even make the daily rent for the minibuses because they had to spend so many hours lined up behind the trucks which were using the routes illegally.
"The money we earn is just to pay for gas because we spend too long in such a traffic jams," Darma, 24, a driver said.
Officers from the Tangerang police precinct and the nearby Curug sub-precinct came to the scene an hour after the protest started at around 8:30 a.m. to try to break up the traffic congestion.
"We almost couldn't believe how the Revenue Office people could do all these silly things, such as allowing trucks to pass by the forbidden signs and opening a post in front of a tollgate," Sgt. Sudarno said. (bsr)