J

akarta Governor Fauzi Bowo is calling for an evaluation of safety measures used by Transjakarta Bus Rapid Transit, and has suggested the firm hire a third-party firm to carry out routine checks of its buses following the latest safety scare on Tuesday morning.

Fauzi said that the Transjakarta management body (BLU) should make necessary changes to ensure the safety of passengers.

“I have ordered the BLU to tighten monitoring. A special task unit should be set up to carry out routine checks,” the governor told reporters at City Hall.

Earlier on Tuesday, passengers on a Transjakarta bus had to smash their way out of the vehicle’s windows after the cabin filled with smoke due to an engine malfunction. The bus was plying the Corridor 5 Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta — Ancol, North Jakarta route.

Seeing the smoke, the passengers panicked and broke the bus windows and climbed out. A few suffered minor injuries in the escape. The bus driver, who had vacated the bus to check on the engine, had left the passengers locked inside.

The governor suggested that the BLU hire a third party firm to carry out routine examinations of its buses and infrastructure.

“If they cannot handle the work themselves, then they should outsource another party. The BLU has to prioritize passenger safety,” he said.

Separately, BLU chief Muhammad Akbar said that the incident on Tuesday morning was not the result of a fire on the vehicle. “The bus was not burning, but we suspect there was a short-circuit. We are still investigating the incident.”

He said that all Transjakarta buses had undergone routine check-ups. He added that every bus was inspected before it left the bus terminal in the morning and again after it had returned in the evening.

“We will investigate whether there was negligence during the examinations,” Akbar said.

He said that all buses were checked by their respective operators. “PT Jakarta Mega Trans is responsible for the buses serving Corridor 5. The company will be penalized if it is found that it operated vehicles that were not road-worthy.”

There have been several safety scares on Transjakarta buses over the past three months.

Late in October, the gas tank of a Transjakarta bus exploded when it was refueling at the Pinang Ranti gas station, East Jakarta. The blast injured three people.

Also in October, a fire damaged the tail section of a Transjakarta bus in East Jakarta. No casualties were reported in the incident.

In August, another bus caught fire in West Jakarta.

Transjakarta buses, which run along exclusive lanes, have also been involved in road accidents.

On Tuesday morning, 16-year-old Rian was seriously injured when he was hit by a Transjakarta bus on Jl. Otista in East Jakarta.

Rian had been attempting to cross the road and had not seen the oncoming bus serving the Kampung Rambutan-Kampung Melayu route.

The BLU recorded a total of 101 accidents involving its buses between January and October, down from 399 accidents during the same period last year.

The accidents this year, however, have inflicted more fatalities. There have been a total 16 deaths in
this year’s accidents, compared to 13 last year.

—JP/Andreas D. Arditya