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Residents uninformed about new buses
Even though new Integrated City Busway (BKTB) buses have started servicing the route connecting Pantai Indah Kapuk in North Jakarta with the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, residents living along the route are not using the service due to a lack of information
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Ready and waiting: A Transjakarta feeder bus, whose route runs from the PIK housing compound in Pluit, North Jakarta to the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, stops outside City Hall on Friday. Due to the city administration banning its employees from using private vehicles on the first Friday of each month, an increasing number of civil servants are expected to turn to public transportation for their commutes. (JP/Jerry Adiguna) (Monas) in Central Jakarta, stops outside City Hall on Friday. Due to the city administration banning its employees from using private vehicles on the first Friday of each month, an increasing number of civil servants are expected to turn to public transportation for their commutes. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
Even though new Integrated City Busway (BKTB) buses have started servicing the route connecting Pantai Indah Kapuk in North Jakarta with the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, residents living along the route are not using the service due to a lack of information.
Passenger Tati Artati said that she only found out about the new buses on Friday afternoon, after a man at a school that Tati was visiting with her daughter recommended the buses. 'I guess the problem here is the lack of information, which means that not many people know about the buses yet' she told The Jakarta Post while on board a BKTB bus traveling to Monas.
'This bus is comfortable and is more convenient than an angkot [public minivan],' said Tati, who was heading to Harmoni in Central Jakarta.
Her daughter, Yuliati, also offered her comments on the atmosphere of the buses. '[The bus] is clean, and looks attractive because it's new. It is a far cry from some of the old, worn-out buses operating on busways at the moment,' the recent high school graduate said.
Informing the public about the new buses may be a challenge for the city administration to focus on.
Yuliati suggested that the city administration should focus on informing the public about the new buses so that they would be more widely used.
Visitors to the Baywalk Mall in Pluit, North Jakarta, one of the stops on the BKTB route, were also unaware of the new service. 'I've never heard of it,' said one of the visitors, who requested anonymity.
Among the mall's staff members, only a few knew about the new buses, while others had mistaken the BKTB buses for the shuttle buses serving the route between the mall and the Pluit Emporium mall.
'BKTB buses don't come inside the Baywalk compound. You have to go outside the gate to catch them,' said security guard Ahmad KA.
He said that not a lot of people had taken the buses from the mall area, but added that he wouldn't hesitate to use the service. 'I live in the dock area beside the mall anyway. If I had any business anywhere along the route, I'd take it [the bus],' he said, laughing.
As music reminiscent of a Michael Jackson tune played softly on an overhead speaker, Yahya, a bus driver's assistant, explained how the buses operate.
He said that the buses had only been operating optimally for three non-consecutive days since Sunday, with a brief two-day hiatus on Wednesday and Thursday due to strikes by disgruntled public minivan drivers.
'Eighteen buses are operating on the route today,' Yahya said, while opening the door for passengers at the Harmoni busway terminal. 'This bus has completed the entire route twice today, but we don't get a good number of people until the evening rush hours,' he added, as some Transjakarta passengers refused to get onto the bus after finding out that they would have to pay an additional fare to board.
Transjakarta passengers only have to pay once, even if they have to change buses several times. However, they have to pay another fare if they change to a BKTB bus.
BKTB buses have no fixed schedule to abide to, but they operate until 9:30 p.m. from the Monas busway terminal, and also have the privilege of traveling in the busway lanes, making the commute a little faster than alternative forms of public transport.
'I would take it again, if I had the chance,' said Tati, who took the bus from Grogol. 'It's easier on the wallet and is less complicated,' she said with a smile.
The BKTB buses resumed operation on Friday following a three-day suspension after being vandalized by several public minivan drivers protesting the new buses which, they said, have taken their potential passengers. Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo pledged to hold a dialogue with public minivan drivers to settle the issue peacefully. (dyl)
