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n light of recent accidents involving Transjakarta buses, city-owned bus operator PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) has asked all its vehicle suppliers to provide a guarantee that their buses are operationally safe.

A Zhong Tong bus operating on Transjakarta Corridor 9 caught fire last weekend near Pancoran in South Jakarta while traveling from Pinang Ranti in East Jakarta to Pluit in North Jakarta. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Last year, a Yutong bus on Corridor 1 caught fire in Sisingamangaraja in South Jakarta while traveling from Kota in West Jakarta to Blok M in South Jakarta.

Transjakarta president director Steve Kosasih said that he had recently contacted Indonesia'€™s sole agent (APM) for the importation and supply of Zhong Tong buses who acknowledged that the accident was its responsibility.

Kosasih said that all APMs would be instructed to provide a legal guarantee stating that their buses were safe and fit for purpose.

'€œFor the sake of our passengers'€™ safety, we have asked all of our bus APMs to write a letter of guarantee that their buses are indeed safe. Should anything happen to the buses, the APM must take full responsibility,'€ Kosasih told a press conference at the Transjakarta office in Cawang, East Jakarta.

The burned-out bus, he said, was currently being investigated by Zhong Tong engineers who had come to Jakarta to determine the cause of the fire.

Transjakarta, Kosasih said, operated a number of different brands of buses, including Daewoo, Hino, Hyundai, Zhong Tong, Yutong and Ankai. An additional 12 brands were currently registered for operation with Transjakarta, he said.

Kosasih said that as of this year, the APMs were also responsible for maintaining and repairing their own brands of buses. Previously, Transjakarta mechanics were responsible for maintenance and passengers have blamed faulty buses on the mechanics, citing a lack of skill.

'€œStarting this year, the APMs are responsible for the buses'€™ maintenance and repair. Transjakarta mechanics will only supervise and check them. This way we can make sure that the maintenance and
repairs are in accordance with the brands'€™ standards so we can avoid accidents,'€ he said.

Transjakarta, now a city-owned firm, previously operated as a unit under the Transportation Agency. Kosasih went on to say there had been 15 incidents where a Transjakarta bus caught fire since it began operations in 2004, with at least one incident a year since 2008.

Separately, Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat said he has asked Transjakarta to intensify supervision and conduct checks on its buses before each day'€™s operation. '€œPassenger safety is number one in public transportation. Thus the city administration has asked Transjakarta to increase supervision not only of its buses and mechanics but also its drivers,'€ Djarot told reporters after an event in Kebayoran Lama in South Jakarta.

He went on to say that Transjakarta'€™s buses overheated easily because they were gas-fueled. '€œSince the buses easily overheat, Transjakarta must be extra careful in maintenance,'€ he said.

'€” JP/Dewanti A. Wardhan