T

he Jakarta administration plans to revitalize the city'€™s public transportation with help from the Australian governments overseas-assistance program AusAID'€™s Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative (IndII).

Public Transportation Agency head of land transportation Emanuel Kristanto said that AusAID through Indii will help the city administration revitalize the current public transportation system by changing its current management system. AusAID, he said, would act as a consultant to the city administration.

There are various types of public transportation in Jakarta, from Mikrolet and KWK minivans to Kopaja and Metro Mini minibuses, among others. Currently, most public transportation in Jakarta is owned privately by hundreds of individuals and small firms who hire drivers. The drivers are required to pay a setoran (sum of money) to the operators each day and may take home the money they make after the minimum amount is fulfilled.

'€œPublic transportation in the city is mostly owned by individuals and small firms. We will change this system so that there are no individuals or small firms, but larger firms with a clear management system,'€ Emanuel told reporters at City Hall in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

Emanuel went on that the firms must sign a service contract with city-owned bus operator PT Transjakarta.

'€œThe city will subsidize the firms through PT Transjakarta. We will erase the current setoran system. Instead, the drivers will receive a monthly salary, which will be paid for by the city administration through PT Transjakarta,'€ he said, adding that passengers will be charged per kilometer.

Emanuel said that the current setoran system urged the drivers to drive recklessly. Most drivers tend to '€œcompete'€ with one another in order to get more passengers and as a result receive more money to take home. Many accidents happen in the city because public transportation drivers drive recklessly.

'€œWe will communicate our plans to Organda [Organization of Land Transportation Owners] and the public transportation operators. Our principle is that we do not want to force the rules on the operators. They will have a chance to criticize us and give us suggestions,'€ he said.

Emanuel said that Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama demanded that the revitalization start soon and be fully implemented in 2017. '€œThe first step is that we will publicize the plan to Organda and public transportation owners soon,'€ he said.

Separately, Ahok acknowledged that the city'€™s current public transportation system was too disorganized.

'€œOur public transportation is very disorganized. Therefore we must find a way to reorganize and revitalize it. Hopefully we can reorganize it in two to three years'€™ time,'€ Ahok said.

He went on that individual public transportation operators got not much benefit from the system and urged the operators to work with PT Transjakarta.

'€œWorking with PT Transjakarta would be more beneficial. For example, they can easily ask for a loan at a bank because PT Transjakarta will be a guarantor. You could receive a large loan and you could buy better vans or buses,'€ Ahok said.

Meanwhile, Organda head Shafruhan Sinungan said that operators supported the plan.

'€œHowever, the concept of the revitalization is still raw. The city must make a clear concept and communicate with operators because we will be the ones affected the most,'€ Shafruhan told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.