TransJakarta to manage island ferries

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

The TransJakarta Busway management is likely to be granted the authority to manage two commuter ferries recently procured by the city administration, an official said over the weekend.

City Transportation Agency head Rustam Effendy Sidabutar said in future, TransJakarta would manage all transportation in the capital.

However, his statement exceeds Gubernatorial Decree No. 110/2003 on the busway, which stipulates that the TransJakarta Busway management is responsible for operating only the busway.

Rustam said the policy to allow the busway operator to manage the two TransJakarta Lumba-lumba, which means dolphin, did not violate any regulations.

The transportation agency recently purchased two boats to replace the Betok 1 and Betok 2, which will stop operations soon. It argued that the new boats would encourage tourism to Kepulauan Seribu regency, commonly called the Thousand Islands, and help revive the local industry.

The Lumba-lumba will serve passengers from Ancol Marina, North Jakarta, to the Thousand Islands, carrying up to 50 passengers twice a day.

Rustam did not mention the cost nor the specifications of the boats.

TransJakarta Busway head Irzal Z. Djamal said the management would be ready for the Lumba-lumba.

"However, we are still awaiting a gubernatorial decree on management of the two boats," he said.

TransJakarta oversees the operation of 56 busway buses plying the initial Blok M-Kota corridor. The management has continued to be criticized since its inception, particularly for its failure to provide feeder services to connect to the busway corridor, although it has been operating for six months already.

The management is currently building the second corridor from Pulogadung, East Jakarta, to Medan Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta, and the third from Medan Merdeka Square to Kalideres, West Jakarta.

Irzal said the TransJakarta Lumba-lumba would start operations this month, but so far no transportation linking the Marina and Kota has been laid out.

"After several months of operation, we will calculate data on the number of passengers using the service to provide feeder transportation and a ticketing system to integrate it with the busway," he said.

He invited interested companies to participate in an open tender for the provision of feeder buses for the Lumba-lumba ferry service.

"Interested companies can submit their proposals to the management. The requirement is that they can provide comfortable feeder buses equipped with air conditioners," he said.

The transportation agency is also preparing a special pier for the Lumba-lumba service in Angke, North Jakarta.