My Comments About The "ADDITIONAL BUSES YET TO IMPROVE TRANSJAKARTA'S SERVICE"

Additional Buses Yet To Improve Transjakarta’s Service

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Jakarta | Thu, April 10 2014, 11:11 AM

Jakarta News

The recent additions to the Transjakarta fleet have resulted in no significant improvements, passengers, and employees say.

Esti Widayanti, a regular passenger on the 2A route said that even though some buses had been added to improve the route, she still had to wait for a long time as there was no schedule.

The 2A route connects Bundaran Senayan in Central Jakarta and Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta.

“I can wait for up to 30 minutes at Galur bus stop [East Jakarta],” Esti said.

The head of the Transjakarta Management Authority, Pargaulan Butarbutar, said that before Transjakarta became a city-owned company, the city administration had added 108 buses, which were deployed proportionally to the 12 corridor network.

Esti said that even when a bus arrived, it was usually uncomfortably full and drivers were often reluctant to wait for alighting and boarding passengers.

“Sometimes, the bus driver will just drive away in a rush,” she added.

The underlying problem, Esti said, was not the number of buses on the route but rather the attitude of other motorists that illegally used the dedicated bus lane.

A barrier attendant at Galur bus stop who asked for anonymity, said that the 2A route’s buses were slow and Transjakarta had yet to set a fixed schedule because of the city’s chaotic — and unpredictable — traffic.

He said that five new buses had begun to ply the route since January.

“You can see the unruly traffic at Cempaka Mas, four stops from here, especially during peak hours. Private cars and motorcycles use the Transjakarta lane; holding up the buses,” he said.

The attendant added that if the buses were equipped with GPS, passengers could be informed of an estimated waiting time.

Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesian chapter director Yoga Adiwinarto said that Transjakarta had begun to improve its service, including bus frequency, although no fixed schedule had been set.

When asked about the main obstacle the company was facing, Yoga said that the recent faulty bus scandal had not only hindered efforts to improve services but would also likely land Transportation Agency officials in prison due to their alleged involvement in the bus-procurement graft case.

The Jakarta administration, with Rp 5 trillion (US$443 million) from the City’s budget, planned to procure more than 4,000 buses from China to bolster the Transjakarta fleet. However, when the first butch of buses arrived in February, some of them showed faulty components, including rusty bolts, missing fan belts and shattered dashboards.

While the new management, with Steve Kosasih as president director, is designing a strategy to achieve significant progress, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has already named two Transportation Agency officials suspects in its investigation into the graft case. After questioning former agency head Udar Pristono on Monday, the AGO on Wednesday also confiscated several faulty buses as evidence.

Deputy Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama once said there were suspicious irregularities in the tendering of the bus procurement project and a markup during the procurement: An articulated bus was bought for Rp 3 billion while its normal price was only around Rp 1 billion. 

Comments :

The government should be more assertive in traffic problems as the riders and cars that use a particular lane busway. Recently the government to follow up other riders who use the busway lane, by doing sanctions accordance with the vehicle. Then I agree with the statement of the Esti Widiyanti, should add that if the bus is equipped with GPS passenger waiting time is estimated to be notified.

It is common knowledge that the Indonesian people are very expert in the field of assembling rafts, oplos mengoplos. It is common knowledge there are also a whole range of services that play a lot of parties in the use of the transport budget. This time we are faced with new Busway cases were imported from China, the country is largest manufacturers of mass transport world. China past few decades become the largest producer State beat Japan, Europe and even America. Economic growth in China is indeed very fast with the largest population in the world has now become an economic giant especially in the field of transportation.

Because it is very feasible if only China becomes the winning bidder in terms of mass transportation capital procurement. As the largest supplier in the world, it is impossible and illogical if China is so stupid to destroy the quality of the merchandise. Compare Chinese vs European goods with the same price class, the Chinese product is definitely superior. Don't compare the price of Chinese products 1 M with European products are priced at 10 M.

In my opinion, the problem Busway yesterday highlighted the various parties because of the irregularities on the busway that was imported from China. Since it was first brought in, many buses are problematic. The busway there are some conditions that its AC units often die or leak, the engine is often too hot, some vital parts, such as batteries, turbo, and a rusty radiator. In a sense, it does not reflect the condition of the busway new stuff.

More astonishing when heard the reason Director of PT. San Eternal as the sole agent (ATPM). According to car manufacturers TransJakarta damage ksalahan possibilities in assembly. Where in the assembly, the problem of furniture, air conditioning and other different companies but it remains the responsibility of the agent. While we know that the body of a partly assembled by local buses like in Balaraja, Bogor, Semarang and Magelang. Though body of a car in Indonesia is much better than those from outside the country but the government itself does not believe in the quality of domestic products.

After the addition of the new TransJakarta fleet has been no significant improvement. For fleet maintenance also must be increased again, the government is also to be firm on the issue of traffic so that no passing lane busway. So the traffic is more orderly. So who will be the cause here? What Chinese manufacturers who risked plant is already classy international? Or Body who also risked the company, agent or Affair? Still not sure who is behind it. 

Perhaps the most vital components that are expensive that in exchange for cheap goods then sold again to a provincial city when servicing? On the pretext of new replacement parts, whereas the original component is indeed innate? Or it could be that there are unscrupulous Transportation Agency play in a way that later would be revenue because of frequent repairs? All that is still under investigation and not yet know who are the cause. Deputy Governor Basuki “Ahok” expressly ordered inspectorate to investigate this case and hopefully the players is soon uncovered.

Actually we are not enemies of other nations, but rather to those of our own. Fight crime even if the crime is in ourselves.

Sources :

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/04/10/additional-buses-yet-improve-transjakarta-s-service.html