Traffic congestion costs bus firms dearly

Traffic congestion costs bus firms dearly

JAKARTA (JP): The traffic congestion during the Idul Fitri
exodus has taken its toll on the revenue of bus companies.

Bus companies officials said their buses could not travel at
all on the peak days of Feb. 17 and 18.

Budi Sulistyo, the business manager of CV Lorena Transport and
Tour Company, whose buses still served their customers reported a
loss of at least Rp 40 million for his 38 buses.

He said these losses included at least one lost round trip for
a 28-seat bus, extra fees for diesel, extra energy spent on the
air conditioners, and the increased wear and tear on machinery
and tires.

Budi said the company's net profit from a ticket is Rp 2,000.

"We make a profit if we fill 21 of our 28 seats, or a load
factor of 75 percent," he said.

The bus companies managers blamed lack of coordination among
transportation officials and the indiscipline of private
motorists for the traffic congestion, particularly along the
Java's northern coastal route.

"There were too many private cars along the roads," said
Hendro Darmojuwono, the manager of the Safari Dharma Raya
company.

"The jams before the Cikampek toll gate to Cirebon, West Java
cost us a lot of money," he said.

Worse

Bus company managements usually anticipate losses as empty
buses on the way back to Jakarta during Idul Fitri holidays, he
said. "But this year's traffic gridlock made everything worse."

Budi said that on Feb. 17-18 the buses used at least 65 liters
of diesel fuel per bus more, costing up to Rp 26,950. For the
route to Surabaya, East Java, this meant three refills, not two
as usual.

Agents said they had hoped for their annual commissions for
Idul Fitri.

"We didn't think it would be this bad," said Mrs. Panjaitan,
an agent at the Lebak Bulus terminal.

"Usually we get a commission of Rp 3,000 per bus," she said.

Although this is split with brokers, employees and for
terminal levies, "if the regular number of 10 buses operate, we
still make some profit," she said.

Agents are now hoping a return on their losses from the
returning traffic to Jakarta. Buses with only 10 passengers have
been sent to cities in West, Central and East Java cities, hoping
for full seats back to Jakarta.

"They were told to leave, even though they were only carrying
a few passengers, because many are already waiting at the other
end," another agent said.

"Ask the managers of state-owned bus companies PPD and
Mayasari Bhakti whether they made a profit," said Suwardjo of the
Tunggal Dara company, whose buses to Solo could not get back to
Jakarta on Feb. 17 and 18.

Of the estimated 3.5 Idul Fitri travelers, around 2 million
went by bus. To cater for these passengers, on top of the 6,694
buses normally operating inter-city routes, 1,750 were added to
fleets. (anr)