Busway Services Deteriorate

KOMPAS, MONDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2009 | 12:23 PM

Kompas / Osa Triyatna

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Transjakarta bus services, or dubbed busway, is bombarded by customers. The worn out air conditioning, dirty and littered shelters, and jammed automatic doors, among which are some of the complaints.

Aside from those complaints, the travel time and headway between busses are often unpredictable.

Security and convenience are also becoming issues, especially regarding the busses being congested with passengers during rush-hours. A customer of Transjakarta corridor III, Kalideres-Harmoni lane, said that the condition of busses and shelters are neglected, some are even littered.

"I realize that the Transjakarta bus services is a cheap means. But cheap doesn't excuse poor services," said Eviani, an employee of a private company on Hayam Wuruk street, Central Jakarta.

Two years ago, she said, the busway facility on corridor III was quite good. She wonders why now the condition has changed dramatically, and she noticed many flaws, among which are jammed shelter doors and gaps on the floor's metal panels.

"Jakartans can only construct but can't maintain. As far as I know, the operational cost for the busway is also taken from the Jakarta regional budget aside from bus fees. So the condition shouldn't remain like this," she said.

Ayunda (31), a loyal customer of busway's corridor VII (Kampung Rambutan - Kampung Melayu) and corridor V (Kampung Melayu-Ancol), said that the convenience and security aren't improving, but deteriorating instead.

"The buss' AC is not cold enough anymore. But the Lorena busses (the new armada) is still good," said the citizen from Tanjung Barat, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, Sunday. She said that if the passengers were many, the AC didn't seem to work, so they had to fan themselves.

Aside from that, she said, sometimes the busses broke down on the way. "If the bus broke down then we get moved to another bus and must stop at the next shelter," said the employee of a private company in Senen, Central Jakarta.

According to Ayunda, in a month, the average for the bus she's on to break down is more than twice. Furthermore, the poor shelters are also inconvenient for waiting passengers.

As for security, she said, the Transjakarta is relatively safe compared to other city busses because there is an officer on-board. She claimed she has never been pick-pocketed on the busway, though she often heard stories of other passengers having had the experience.

Romi (25) concurs. As a regular on the Corridor VII, he said that the old busses should get better maintenance so they could be as good as the new ones.

"The AC isn't cold anymore. The sound system that gives information about the stops is rarely on. It's unfortunate for those who seldom take the busway," said the citizen of Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, Sunday.

The poor shelters along that corridor are the one near Bogor mainstreet's fly-over and the one near Kramatjati central market. The automatic doors on the shelters along that lane are always open. While the shelters' glass panes and aluminum body are dirty, as if they're never cleaned.

Another busway facility that has been damaged is the street separator, as can be seen on the Harmoni-Lebak Bulus lane. The separator along that lane is heavily damaged, leaving nuts and bolts on the street that would endanger other vehicles. The nuts and bolts can be 7 cms tall. The damage is due to cars that run over the separator to move between the regular lane and the busway lane.

The Transjakarta shelter on Gatot Subroto street has been vandalized with spray paint on the glass panes and walls. The doodles have been there since several weeks ago and so far haven't been cleaned.

The Al-Azhar shelter is also suffering. The floor panels of the bridge are loose. And also, several lights on the bridge are off.

On the Cengkareng Drain shelter, Daan Mogot street, West Jakarta, the busway bridge has been used by motor-bikes, including bike-cabs, to cross the street. Not to mention a lot of beggars and peddlers on the bridge make the condition even worse. Some zinc panels on the bridge are peeling off too.

According to a Transjakarta officer, the major cleaning is only done once a week, but it doesn't include the shelters' external. "Usually just the inside is cleaned, such as the floors and window panes," said the officer who was reluctant to give his name.

Coordinator of the Joint Committee for Leaded Gasoline Phaseout (KPBB), Ahmad Safrudin, some time ago stated that many facilities and infrastructure of the busway are deteriorating because there are two corridors that aren't operational yet, Corridor IX (Pinangranti-Pluit) and Corridor X (Cililitan-Tanjung Priod).

"For almost three years the busway infrastructures on those corridors are idle," he said.

The gas fuel supply for the Transjakarta bus armada till now is still unsufficient, causing a disturbance in the bus operations. The consequence is that the passengers' waiting time, especially during rush-hours, is over 30 minutes longer than it should be.

But the head of Transjakarta's Public Service Institution (BLU), Daryati A. Fini, denies the deterioration of Transjakarta's service. She said that the service has improved since the number of passengers has increased by 10-15 percent, or from around 230,000 to 250,000 passengers increased to 270,000 everyday.

"Currently the complaints against services are lessening. This shows improving service," she said. (hertanto/C17-09)

Editor: jimbon