Five new Transjakarta buses that started operating in Corridor 1 on Wednesday connecting Blok M in South Jakarta and Kota in West Jakarta received a warm welcome from passengers, who hope the new buses result in improved service.

Gunawan Wibisono, a businessman, said the new Swedish-made Scania buses were more stable and quieter than the old ones. Standing near a bus exit door, the frequent Transjakarta passenger said he was impressed with the new buses.

'€œIt would be great if other corridors had buses like this,'€ he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) recently said there had been a substantial decrease in the average number of Transjakarta buses per hour at eight of the 12 corridors this year compared to 2012 due to declining service.

Lack of enforcement to keep Transjakarta lanes clear of other vehicles and uncertainty over bus arrival times were the most frequently voiced complaints from passengers.

Another passenger, Dani, who rode one of the new buses with his Japanese friend, praised the condition of the bus, saying that it would make a good impression on visitors to the city. However, he said the new bus lacked a loudspeaker to inform passengers of the next stop.

The five buses that hit the streets on Wednesday were among 20 Scania buses introduced by city-owned bus operator PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) during Jakarta'€™s anniversary on June 22.

Transjakarta president director ANS Kosasih said the other 15 buses could not be put into operation yet as some documents were pending approval from the Transportation Ministry and Industry Ministry. The documents will then need to be submitted to the Traffic Police for vehicle registration certificate (STNK) .

'€œDocument completion may take a while because the [two] ministries must verify them,'€ Kosasih said.

After obtaining an STNK, the buses must undergo a roadworthy test with the city'€™s Transportation Agency. Kosasih said he guaranteed that all buses would be operational before Aug 17.

Besides serving Corridor 1, the new buses would also serve Corridor 9 connecting Pluit in North Jakarta and Pinang Ranti in East Jakarta. Each bus is equipped with CCTVs and can carry up to 140 passengers with 39 seats, including six priority seats.

Kosasih said the new Scania buses had certified fireproof interiors.

A number of Transjakarta buses caught by fire in the past year, with the most recent incident involving bus in Salemba, Central Jakarta, on July 3.

'€œFloor coatings, carpet and other interior materials are now fireproof. We would like to provide our passengers with better security,'€ Kosasih said.

Transjakarta is set to procure this year 51 buses, 31 of which were expected to arrive by the end of the year. Each bus costs roughly Rp 4.45 billion (US$333,833).

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