Wahana starts delivery of 400 buses

JAKARTA (JP): Bus maker PT Wahana Perkasa Auto Jaya, a subsidiary of PT Texmaco, started delivering on Monday the first of a total of 400 public transportation buses to its buyers.

Dedi Krishna (second left), marketing director of the company, said the buses, which are part of the company's latest Goldline series, had been made to meet international standards as well as the domestic demand for efficient, comfortable public buses.

He said the buses were designed and manufactured by Indonesian engineers at Texmaco's Perkasa factory in Subang, West Java.

He claimed the buses were 20 percent cheaper than imported buses because 80 percent of their components were locally made.

The price was expected to become even lower in the future once the company realized its plan of raising the local content to 92 percent, he said.

The 400 buses have been bought by four local public transportation companies, which he did not identify.

The new buses were officially launched on Monday at the Hilton Hotel in a ceremony attended by, among others, Jakarta City Council Speaker Eddy Waluyo (left, breaking a ceremonial pot), head of the Jakarta Organization of Land Transportation Owners, Aip Syaifuddin (second right), and William Sirait (right), the company's marketing manager. (03)