YLKI wants govt to gradually scrap Mikrolet

JAKARTA (JP): A leading consumers organization urged the Jakarta administration to gradually scrap 12-seat Mikrolet public minibuses and to develop rail-based mass transport system.

Their request comes in the wake of Mikrolet crews refusing to close the doors of their vehicles while in transit.

Yesterday, Chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumers Organization Zumrotin Kasru Susilo told The Jakarta Post that Jakarta cannot accommodate the transit needs of its 10 millions residents with Mikrolet, a locally designed passenger van.

"Mikrolet should be banned," Zumrotin said, adding that prior to the prohibition there should be other jobs created for the soon-to-be unemployed vehicle crews.

According to her, small vehicles such as Mikrolet cannot give comfortable and safe service to their passengers. She said that this ultimately encourages people to buy cars, putting more of a burden on an already overtaxed traffic system.

"Frankly speaking, all of this is in the interest of the auto industries," the consumer activist said.

She noted that it was high time a rail-based mass transport system was developed given Jakarta's transit crisis.

On Friday of last week, hundreds of Mikrolet drivers staged a strike to protest the government's new regulation which prohibits them from keeping their vehicles' doors open.

Refusing to carry passengers, the drivers closed their Mikrolet's doors, blocked the streets in the downtown area and caused heavy traffic jams.

Meanwhile Executive Director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation Mulyana W. Kusumah said that the government should first talk to owners and drivers before launching a transport service improvement.

Mulyana noted that bowing to the demands of the consumer organization would weaken the integrity of the government.

Drivers

In a related development, a scholar at the Jakarta-based Trisakti Transport Management Academy, Hasan Basri, said the Jakarta administration should not lay the blame solely on the drivers but also on the passengers as well.

"People are lazy to walk, even five meters, to reach the proper place to wait for public vehicles," Hasan bluntly said. He added that the government should launch a campaign regarding the civic discipline.

Hasan, also an official of the Ministry of Transportation in charge of research, suggested that the government change the working systems between owners and drivers.

Under the present system, drivers have to pay a certain amount of rent to the owner regardless of the number of passengers they transport each day.

According to Hasan, the system forces drivers to race along their routes, looking for as many passengers as they can while ignoring traffic regulations.

He said that, based on his experiences in developed countries, the government should demand companies give to their drivers monthly wages. (09)