Transit firms drag feet on night fleets

JAKARTA (JP): The Land Transportation and Traffic Control Agency (DLLAJ) said that most transportation companies operating wide-bodied buses are reluctant to operate their fleets at night because it is not economically feasible.

The agency's head, J.P Sepang, said that the transit firms have complained of small numbers of passengers at night. They say people prefer using taxis compared to buses because they feel insecure on buses.

"From an evaluation done on the existing night transportation, there is an indication that people prefer to use taxis rather than buses because they feel safer and it is quicker to get home by cab," Sepang told reporters at the City Council building yesterday.

He explained on Thursday that many people feel unsafe taking buses at night because of bad experiences they had in the past.

Last month a woman, who was waiting for a private company bus to leave Cililitan, East Jakarta, was dragged away by several extortionists who then raped her.

DLLAJ has asked transportation companies operating wide-bodied buses to run at least 30 percent of their fleets at night in order to meet the demand for transit services from the public.

In order to create a feeling of security among passengers, the City Police have deployed police officers to maintain order on transit vehicles at night.

"Unfortunately the police cannot be around all of the time," Sepang said.

Some of the bus companies operating wide-bodied buses have used the fact that the number of passengers is relatively small at night as a reason not to operate their fleets.

"The average number of passengers in one bus at night is only four," he added.

But Sepang said that Mayasari Bhakti, a major private companies operating buses in the city, operates anyway because it does not want night transportation dominated by one company.

In the past the public demand for night transportation was met by 12-seat minivans, such as the authorized Koperasi Wahana Kaplika minivans and other unauthorized minivans plying lucrative routes linking Jakarta and suburban areas, such as Depok, Bekasi and Tangerang. (yns/has)