Two busway buses damaged one day before launch
Damar Harsanto and Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A day after calling for a perfect launch for the busway project, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said on Tuesday that two of the 56 busway buses had already been damaged.
"It's true that two of the buses hit overhanging branches, shattering their windows," he said, without providing details.
Sutiyoso had urged the 126 busway drivers to maintain their image as "good drivers" by not making any technical mistakes.
However, the governor said that despite the minor accidents the project would be launched on Thursday as scheduled.
"My latest random checks of the bus shelters show that all infrastructure has been completed," he said.
Sutiyoso admitted that his administration had not yet prepared sidewalks along the busway corridor from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta for would-be passengers.
On Monday, busway drivers said that they were still experiencing difficulties in operating the specially designed buses, particularly in aligning the bus' folding door with the automatic door of the shelter.
"In six attempts, usually we fail once or twice. Is that all right?" a driver asked The Jakarta Post.
If the driver does not stop the bus in exactly the right place, passengers will not be able to exit the bus as the shelter is a meter higher than the road.
Busway drivers will work in eight hour shifts and must wear ties and suits.
Each driver will receive a monthly salary of Rp 2 million.
Meanwhile, other bus drivers serving routes overlapping the busway corridor are worried that they will lose their jobs.
Solihin, a driver plying Blok M-Kota, said that he had no idea what would happen, although he had heard that his route would be terminated.
"I just hope that we don't get laid off," said the driver of the city-owned PPD.
Siswono, a bus driver plying Bekasi-Kota, also had no idea whether his route, which intersects the busway route, from the Semanggi cloverleaf bridge to Kota, would continue.
"I don't know. Will I have to turn around at Semanggi and return to Bekasi, or should I go to Blok M first before returning?" he asked.
Kosim, a driver of a privately-owned Bianglala bus plying Ciputat-Kota, said no information had been made available on his route.
"I don't know if I can only drive from Ciputat to Blok M and vice versa. My company hasn't given us any information," he told the Post.
An official of PT Bianglala bus company, who requested anonymity, said that the company was intentionally not providing bus crews with details to avoid unrest.
"We have already made a decision and will inform them at the right time," he said.
An official of the Blok M bus terminal said that a special lane for busway had been set up at the terminal's lane 1 but no lanes had been allocated for the feeder buses.