The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakartans planning to travel around the capital should prepare to deal with unusually crowded streets this weekend as the city launches four new busway corridors.
The lines will link Pulogadung in East Jakarta to Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta; Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Ancol in North Jakarta; Ragunan in South Jakarta to Kuningan in Central Jakarta; and Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta to Kampung Melayu.
Governor Sutiyoso is scheduled to preside over the launch ceremony in Ancol, North Jakarta. The administration had set a deadline of Dec. 20, 2006 to complete the project, but budgetary problems interfered with construction.
In an effort to meet the target date, work on the corridors has gone on around the clock, further snarling the city's already bad traffic.
Unlike the three existing busway corridors, the new lines will use a manual ticketing system until the bidding process for an electronic ticketing system is completed, the head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency, Nurachman, said Friday.
""We will use paper tickets temporarily until we name a winner from the tender,"" he said. He added that the fare on the new lines will be Rp 3,500, as it is on existing corridors.
The agency is holding a tender to select a consortium to operate Corridors 4 to 7, including managing personnel, operations and maintenance.
The bidders' credibility and performance are still being evaluated.
In an apparent rush to open the new corridors, the lines will initially operate with only 10 buses instead of the planned 51.
""The remaining 41 buses are still at the vehicle manufacturer. We aim to have all of the buses available by the end of February.""
The first busway corridor, from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta, opened in January 2004. (04)
