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The Jakarta administration has ordered that, as of

Tuesday, all public bus routes that overlap more than half

of Corridor IX must bescrapped.

Hipolitus is worried about his job, and for good

reason: Hes working on borrowed time. The 50-year-

old drives the Patas 46 bus that runs from Cililitan in

East Jakarta to Grogol in West Jakarta.

Much of his route runs down Jalan S. Parman in

West Jakarta, parallel with the TransJakarta busway

Corridor IX, running from Pinang Ranti in East

Jakarta to Pluit in North Jakarta.

Therein lies the problem. The Jakarta administration

has ordered that, as of Tuesday, all public bus routes

that overlap more than half of Corridor IX must be

scrapped.

Hipolitus said he was aware of the order, but he

worked anyway on Tuesday because his office told

him to.

If we can keep on operating here, then well

continue doing so because this is where we earn our

livelihood, he said.

He added that while the administration might be

trying to improve busway services, it was not going

about it the right way.

This is an unfair policy. Its excessive, he said.

Its good for boosting busway services, but they

should have provided us with a solution first before

implementing this policy.

A total of 189 buses serving nine routes are affected

by the policy, according to Udar Pristono, head of the

Jakarta Transportation Office.

He said Corridors IX and X, which run from Cililitan to

Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta, had proved popular

since being launched at the end of last year.

This, he argued, would see fewer passengers taking

the regular buses, which in turn would see the buses

make longer and more frequent stops to wait for

passengers, thus backing up traffic along the road.

Udar said the bus operators would be provided a one

-week grace period in which to remap their existing

routes.

After that week is up, well begin enforcing the policy

by cracking down on those buses continuing to serve

the same routes, he said.

He added that the operators appeared amenable to

the plan and could use their affected buses to bolster

other routes.

Pande Putu Yasa, a spokesman for transportation

company PPD, which serves three of the nine

affected routes, said the firm disagreed with the

policy.

He said it could not simply make up for anticipated

losses by moving its buses over to its 24 other

routes.

Weve calculated each route carefully in terms of the

fleet we need, and we cant add more buses just like

that because there will be a bus overload, Pande

said.

Rerouting of Buses May See Hundreds Lose Their JobsArientha Primanita & Obey Wibinnov Sianipar| February 02, 2011

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Page 1Rerouting of Buses May See Hundreds Lose Their Jobs | The Jakarta Globe

congestion extends to other roads as well.

But now look at it. Its always packed, and the

morning rush hour would be flowing smoothly by 10

Before the busway was built, the traffic after the

area even worse.

made the already chronic traffic congestion in the

and its dedicated lane, along Jalan S. Parman had

The 23-year-old also said the advent of the busway,

rather than the busway.

the reason she preferred to take the regular bus

the long trudge from the shelter to the sidewalk was

Fani, a graduate from Tarumanegara University, said

up the long ramps leading to the busway shelters.

older people because it did not require them to climb

He also said taking a regular bus was less taxing on

depend on this bus.

street vendors and the buskers whose livelihoods

count on us to keep serving this route, as do the

This isnt just a bus, he said. The passengers

buses catered to more cash-strapped commuters.

Hipolitus, the Patas 46 driver, agreed that the regular

public buses, she said.

Its the private cars that should be limited, not the

the fare on the regular bus.

busway, which costs Rp 3,500 ($0.40) more than

available, she said, she would be forced to take the

to her office in Taman Anggrek. If this was no longer

Wasti, 38, said she regularly took the Patas 46 to get

passengers.

The new rule is also unpopular with some

complained.

eradicating the poor through this policy, he

Instead of eradicating poverty, the government is

half.

Dec. 31, his passenger numbers have dropped by

He said that since Corridor IX began operating on

since 1995.

Grogol and Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta

That includes Wawan, who has driven a bus between

drivers and conductors were in limbo.

In the meantime, he said, the livelihoods of 300

company to start operating them.

administration had not issued a permit allowing the

that do not overlap with the busway, but the city

He added that PPD had proposed two new routes

a.m., she said.

requires graduating from high school.

They cant apply to be busway drivers because that

elementary school education, he said.

drivers and assistants, most of whom only have an

Our biggest concern is what will happen to our 800

money necessary to pay for bus rental.

be more severe than just drivers failing to earn the

affected routes, said the fallout from the policy would

Mayasari Bhakti, which serves six of the nine

Ajang Sodikin, head of personnel for bus operator

remainder out of his own pocket.

to the buss owner. That means he must pay the

sometimes fails to earn enough to pay the daily rent

Because of the reduced number of trips, he

said.

The traffic is worse with the busway in place, he

but that has since fallen to 16 on a good day.

make 20 trips back and forth from Cililitan to Grogol,

Before the arrival of Corridor IX, he said, he could

Hipolitus knows about the traffic all too well.

borrowed time.

Hipolitus, it turns out, is not the only one working on