Worried conductors protest over fare collection system
JAKARTA (JP): A 15-person delegation, claiming to represent over 1,000 conductors of the PPD city buses yesterday asked the House of Representatives to drop the new, draconian policy of the state-owned company.
As a result of the firm's new policy, the delegation said that they stand to lose jobs due to the direct payment system which no longer requires any crewpeople to collect fares from passengers.
"It seems to us that the company wants to 'kill' us by applying this new system," Robin, a spokesman for the delegation, said. "We need the government to decide on our fate."
The representatives of the conductors were received by A. Sukarna and A. Simandjuntak from the Armed Forces faction.
According to Robin, the city bus conductors will only get their monthly wages, between Rp 90,000 and Rp 100,000 (US$41.20 and $45.80), if PPD uses the new payment system, locally called RMB (new method route) and it is applied to PATAS (express) buses.
As it was before, he said, they could earn extra money as long as they were able to pay the dues of Rp 130,000 per bus, per half-day work.
Robin refused to describe how much extra money but some estimated that the amount could be around Rp 20,000 per crew.
The house members vowed to convey their complaints to PPD and to get more details from the minister of transportation.
Reporters
Earlier, 30 PPD conductors plying routes to Tangerang who claimed to represent all their colleagues, sought help by traveling to the office building of the local PWI (Indonesian Journalists Association ) on Sunday.
They were also worried that they might lose their jobs when the new system takes effect.
They told a group of reporters there that the RMB would deprive them of their jobs when it takes effect later this month. Under the new system no conductors are needed to collect fares from the passengers. Instead, the passengers pay the fares by inserting money into a coin box installed near the driver's seat.
In actuality PPD has operated the RMB system since 1992. But at the time it was called the RMB 55 and was used only on a special route linking Rawamangun in East Jakarta and Pasar Baru business district in Central Jakarta with 10 buses, several of them air-conditioned.
The buses stop only at appointed bus shelters to pick up or drop off passengers, unlike the ordinary buses which often pick up or drop off passengers away from designated bus stops. The buses also operate on schedule, providing certainty to passengers as well as safety since the drivers are forbidden from speeding.
One of the conductors, Amir Sibarani, said that more than 200 conductors have been laid off since the RMB 55 system was started.
"We do not reject the system, but only urge that the implementation of it be postponed until we are able to get another job," he said.
He added since the operation of another type of RMB system for air-conditioned buses early this year, many conductors have lost their jobs.
"They came to the depot only to be told that there were no jobs for them. Eventually many of them were told by the company to resign," Amir said.
Meanwhile, PPP director Yahya Subandi assured on Sunday that his company would pay serious attention to the plight of the conductors.
"They should be inordinately worried about it. They will not end up in misery. We will provide other jobs for them," Yahya said. But he refused to go into detail and appeared evasive when pressed by persistent reporters about what exactly he meant by "other jobs." (bas/bsr)