Two busway buses damaged one day before launch
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.