C

ity owned bus operator Transjakarta is set to manage the operation of Kopaja minibuses on route S66, from Blok M to Manggarai in South Jakarta, as a part of a wider plan to revamp the capital'€™s public transportation.

The administration plans to revitalize public transportation with help from Australian government overseas aid program AusAID'€™s Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative (IndII), which will act as the consultant.

Newly inaugurated Transportation Agency head Benjamin Bukit said that as the first step, all Kopaja S66 operators must form a central management structure, which would then sign an operational contract with Transjakarta.

'€œThe Kopaja management will sign a contract with Transjakarta. Through the contract, we will deconstruct the setoran system,'€ Benjamin said on Tuesday, referring to the rental fee system that requires drivers to pay a sum of money to bus owners or operators every day.

The capital is home to various types of public transportation, including Mikrolet and KWK minivans as well as Kopaja and Metro Mini buses. Most public transportation in Jakarta is owned privately by individuals and small firms who hire drivers.

The drivers are required to pay a sum of money to operators each day and take home the remaining money they earn.

The setoran system sees many drivers driving recklessly to meet the required fees and earn more money. They compete with each other for more passengers, often ignoring passenger safety.

The drivers also regularly park for long periods on roadsides to wait for passengers, sometimes transferring passengers to other buses mid-route so they can turn back and focus on the busier sections of routes, thereby earning more money.

Many road accidents in the city are caused by reckless driving.

'€œIn the contract, the city administration, through Transjakarta, will pay the operators per kilometer. The city will also pay the drivers'€™ salary. Therefore, the setoran system will be scrapped,'€ Benjamin said.

He said the city and IndII were still conducting a study to determine the fares per kilometer. He added that all old minivans and minibuses would eventually be replaced with new ones.

'€œHopefully we can begin the pilot project in late March or early April this year,'€ Benjamin said.

If the pilot project succeeded, he went on, the city would begin to implement the system on other routes and other means of public transportation.

'€œUltimately, under this system, the administration would like to operate all modes of public transportation, including Metro Mini, Mikrolet, and so on,'€ he said.

Separately, Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said he was satisfied with the progress of the city'€™s public transportation revitalization project.

Ahok said the system would not only be beneficial for the operators but also for Jakartans.

'€œThe revitalization meets our expectations so far. The Kopaja S66 was chosen as our pilot project because the route and its operators are considered ready and already good enough. Hopefully, we can successfully implement the new system,'€ Ahok said at City Hall on Tuesday.

He said drivers would be paid twice the provincial minimum wage (UMP), which is currently Rp 2.7 million (US$216.34).

The new system is expected to be fully implemented for all public transportation by 2017.

Public transportation drivers recently expressed their support for the plan to revitalize non-Transjakarta public transportation.

However, many were afraid that they would not meet the requirements set by Transjakarta.