A 20-year-old man may still be good looking, energetic and full of life, but two decades is a different story for a Jakarta public bus, travel-weary and rusted from its long journey.
The spokesman of Pulogadung Vehicle Test Center, Fatchuri, said car engines that were more than 10 years old usually needed extra care to maintain their condition - and that also applied to public vehicles.
Herry Rotty, the chairman of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners concurred that most public vehicles in Jakarta were very old.
"The city administration has long told vehicle owners to upgrade their fleets and discontinue using old vehicles. However, renewing such a large number of vehicles costs a lot of money," he said.
Owners were not making enough from passenger fares to cover the cost of new vehicles, Herry said.
"We could finance this purchase with our own revenue only if were allowed to double the current passenger fares," he said.
"Organda have talked with the governor *Fauzi Bowo* about this problem. He said we should seek bank loans to finance the purchase," he said.
Herry added that most vehicle owners were reluctant to be burdened with the interest on loans.
"The administration should help us get low-interest loans if they really want us to upgrade our fleet," he said.
According to Herry, the minimum price of a new bus was Rp 800 million (US$83,333).
An older bus could be sold for around Rp 300 million to buyers outside Jakarta, he said. As a last resort they could also be sold for scrap for Rp 25 million.
Arifin Azhari, the assistant director of bus operator PT Mayasari Bakti, said his company planned to upgrade its entire fleet.
"We have about 1,500 buses, and most of them are more than 10 years old. We plan to buy 200 new buses this year and another 200 next year," he said.
One-hundred new buses were now operating on routes that pass through the central thoroughfare, Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Arifin said.
"People judge this city by its public buses. We want to present a good image of Jakarta," he said.
Mayasari pays around Rp 600 million for a new non-air-conditioned (AC) bus, while one with AC costs Rp 900 million.
"The cost of upgrading is very high. But if Mayasari did not take this step, we would keep losing customers who demand more comfortable transportation vehicles," he said.
Mayasari expects to cut maintenance costs after the upgrade.
"The maintenance costs on new *buses* will not be as high as it is for old ones. We have difficulty maintaining our old buses and some of them were caught in the recent raids carried out by the Jakarta Transportation Agency," he said.
He predicted that Mayasari would regain its initial capital for the new units within eight years.
"Since the city administration keeps changing public transportation fees, I can not be sure," he said.
Soetanto Soehodo, the deputy governor for transportation, trade and industry, said the city administration appreciated the efforts made by vehicle owners to renew their fleets.
"In future, the administration will prioritize allocating route licenses to vehicle owners who upgrade their vehicles," he said.
Soetanto said he hoped the city administration would not need to make a bylaw to force public vehicle owners to renew their fleets.
"The owners should do so voluntarily," he said.
Earlier, Soetanto said buying new vehicles might be cheaper than paying for maintenance costs.
An initial investment in a new bus could be recovered within five to seven years, he said. (mrs)
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