Unfit public buses clog city streets

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 11/02/2009 2:02 PM  |  Special Report

If you wonder how cramped public trans-portation is in Jakarta, consider this figure: Only 28 percent of 11,297 public buses have roadworthiness certificates, according to the Pulogadung Vehicle Test Center in East Jakarta.

As buses have to undergo a series of tests to attain the certificate (KIR), a failure to pass suggests that a bus should be getting repaired in a workshop rather than speeding along Jakarta's streets emitting black smoke.

The series of tests include checking the conditions of the brakes, lamps, vehicle structure, chairs, speedometer, wipers, tires, tire connection structure and emission levels.

"Most failures are related to the tire structures and emission tests," said Fatchuri, the spokesman for the center.

All public and cargo vehicles in Jakarta are required to undergo the test once every six months.

"People blame our office because there are so many bad quality public vehicles on the city's roads, but the owners of public vehicles are the ones that try to skip the KIR," he said.

Fatchuri said that many of the public vehicles were quite old and suggested that owners were reluctant to have their vehicles tested for that reason.

He said that many public vehicles operating in the city, especially buses, were produced in the 1980s.

"Because they are old, the vehicles must be repaired often or they are likely to fail the test," he said.

The chairman of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), Herry Rotty, said that many owners were reluctant to pay the high maintenance costs for old vehicles.

"The public transportation fees are too low. It takes a very long time for vehicle owners to regain their initial capital. It is hard to expect them to routinely pay for the vehicles' maintenance costs," he said.

Hulman Sitorus, head of the operational control division at the Jakarta Transportation Agency, said that his agency had repeatedly warned public vehicle owners, especially transportation companies, to renew their roadworthiness certificates.

"We have given them notification letters. We are currently ensuring that this law is enforced. Since Oct. 12, we've held raids at major road intersections with the police to check the safety conditions of public vehicles in the city," he said.

Hulman said the agency could seize dozens of vehicles that did not possess KIR certificates.

The confiscated vehicles are taken to holding sites until their owners fulfill the legal requirements to reclaim them.

"The owners have to accept penalties from the court before being able to reclaim their vehicles," Hulman said.

"If their vehicles are seized again, the owners must follow another trial for their violations and the confiscation period will be extended," he said.

Herry said that Organda supported the law enforcement initiative.

"The raids are needed to protect the safety of passengers," he said.

However, Herry added that there must be clearer mechanisms.

"There must be a fixed confiscation period for vehicles. The city administration must also find the solution for owners' difficulties in paying maintenance costs," he said.

Ellen Tangkudung, a transportation expert from the University of Indonesia, said that regardless of owners' financial predicaments, they must ensure the safety of vehicles at all costs.

"The owners must ask the city administration to help them find the solution. Compromising passenger safety for financial reasons is not acceptable," she said. (mrs)

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