Potholes causing a rough ride as Senen terminal waits for repairs

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 04/03/2008 1:37 AM  |  City

Daily activity at Senen terminal in Central Jakarta, one of the busiest bus terminals in the city, is still hampered by large potholes and bumps across its compound.

Although many of the potholes have been temporarily filled up with debris and stones, serious repair has yet to be done.

"We have reported the damage to the technical unit office, which has the authority for this, but we haven't heard anything from them yet," said Ginting, an officer at the terminal on Wednesday.

He said the potholes, which are up to two meters wide, and bumps were the result of frequent rain over the last few months.

During the last rainy season, more than 100 sites along Jakarta's 65,000 kilometers of road were damaged.

Many bus and minivan drivers at the terminal, located in one of the city's most historical commercial centers, complained the potholes were causing damage to their vehicles.

"Last week when my minivan plunged into a deep hole, my rear bumper broke from hitting the asphalt," said Edi, a mikrolet minivan driver.

"It cost me Rp 25,000 (US$2.7) to fix the bumper. It's quite a lot for me and there's no guarantee it won't happen again," said the 53-year-old who earns around Rp 200,000 in gross income each day.

Edi said many drivers had to spend money to repair their vehicles, with the most serious damage being broken springs.

"It's annoying. We have to pick up passengers inside the terminal, but there are so many holes," said Jaenudin, another minivan driver.

He said he needed to navigate around the holes and drive slowly to avoid damaging his van and injuring his passengers.

"Sometimes my passengers hit the cabin's roof. There's nothing else I can do but say sorry," said Jaenudin, who urged the authority to fix the damage as soon as possible.

"Are they waiting for a car to roll over before fixing it?" he said. (dre)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.