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n accident involving a Transjakarta bus catching fire, with the fire then spreading to a nearby bus stop in South Jakarta, has again raised concerns about safety on city-owned public transportation. Thankfully there were no reported casualties on Thursday '€” nevertheless, reports say it was the ninth accident involving Transjakarta since January alone, sparking concern over whether the city-owned operator has improved maintenance of its fleets.

The latest accident occurred on Jl. Sisingamangaraja during the morning rush hour. Explaining the chronology of the incident, the driver said he heard an explosion at the back of the bus when the vehicle stopped. When he tried to extinguish the fire with an onboard fire-extinguisher, the fire grew bigger and the passengers had to be evacuated.

The Jakarta city administration has made a commendable step in responding to the accident by suspending operation of the buses procured at the same time as this ill-fated bus, pending further investigation. But the administration needs to do more, including conducting similar investigations of the previous incidents.

Such investigations are necessary, not only to find the culprits, but more importantly to prevent any similar accidents in the future. From the result of the investigations, relevant parties could learn whether accidents were caused by poor performance of the buses since they were first constructed or due to poor maintenance by the operators.

Guaranteeing the safety of Transjakarta buses is vital amid the city administration'€™s campaign to encourage more motorists '€” car and motorcycle users '€” to shift to public transportation, in an attempt to address the congestion that occurs across the city well beyond rush hours.

So far the general public is largely in the dark about the causes of the buses catching fire, as the city administration has not announced the results of its investigations into the previous incidents. We can only guess that such accidents might be caused by poor maintenance of the buses, as is too often obvious in the maintenance of other public facilities owned by the city administration and the central government.

As an example, the city administration has constructed at least three elevators at Transjakarta bus stops to facilitate entry for disabled passengers, but not all of the elevators work. Poor condition of the long connecting bridges is another subject of public complaints.

Certainly, safety concerns do not apply solely to TransJakarta. A negligent attitude among road users to safety procedures has often been the source of unnecessary accidents. Vehicles have been hit by commuter trains, causing many deaths and injuries, because motorists ignored warnings. Pedestrians have been killed as they were jaywalking on busy roads, or have been victims of reckless drivers who similarly ignore zebra crossings.

The incoming Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama will need to step up the increase in buses and ensure maintenance of the whole fleet. For now, the long queues above the busway stops make one shudder to consider the unthinkable casualties if a bus were to catch fire and passengers were unable to reach safety in time.