T

he Bandung Transportation Agency is designing an internet-based application for drivers and angkot (public minivan) users.

Agency head Didi Ruswadi claimed the application would function in the same way as Pokémon Go, an augmented reality game in which players are tasked with hunting and capturing monsters.

“So angkot drivers won’t stop and wait for passengers, but seek them out. Likewise, passengers can find out where the driver is,” said Didi during the launch of the Jumat Ngangkot campaign on Jl. RE Martadinata in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday.

A similar campaign will also be rolled out in schools.

The main purpose of the application is to end the infamous habit of angkot drivers stopping at intersections to wait for passengers.

“Passenger complaints about angkot drivers include long waiting times, reckless driving and smoking while driving,” said Didi.

Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil, better known as Emil, explained that efforts to improve public transportation in the city were part of the Bandung Urban Mobility Project master plan. “Urban issues cover not only transportation but also mobility or people’s movement — public transportation, lifestyle and technopolis spatial planning.”

Emil said the lifestyle approach could be used for people who like to walk or ride bicycles.

“This concept is less popular for adults but applicable to young people. Many schools are now equipped with bicycle spaces. We will develop the concept of bike sharing, with 30 bike-sharing points and hundreds of bicycles,” said Emil.

As for spatial planning, Bandung municipality is working on the technopolis concept in East Bandung. The area will not only be equipped with housing, but also various facilities such as start-ups and other businesses so that residents can live and work in the same area.

“It will be a multifunctional city. We will also develop the TOD [transit-oriented development] concept [...] For example, a bus terminal will be built under the Trans Studio Mall, because open-air bus terminals such as Cicaheum, Dago and Antapani are already old. The Bandung Transportation Agency should be able to finalize at least one TOD during my term in office,” said Emil.

Angkot driver Asep Supriyadi, 59, who plies the Cicaheum-Kebon Kalapa route, said he would be happy with any application that aided both drivers and passengers. “But, frankly, if it requires an advanced phone, I don’t have the means. Angkot owners will have to help out,” he said.

Asep, an angkot driver since 1985, claimed a decline in earnings along with the rise in motorcycle loans. “Nowadays it’s a good day when you can take home just Rp 50,000 [ US$3.70],” he said.

Bandung Community Transport Cooperative (Kopamas) secretary Budi Kurnia said Kopamas was open to the development of the application for angkot drivers. “Remember, angkot owners and drivers who are Kopamas members have to know where their income is coming form. Whatever the municipality’s decision, we will accept it as long as our members’ needs are taken into account,” said Budi.

He added that in the near future, the Bandung municipality would also convert the city’s mode of transportation from angkot to public buses, noting that each bus could carry three times as many passengers as a minivan.