T

he lack of incentives offered by the Jakarta administration to existing public transportation operators have led to patchy integration of the transportation system in the capital.

The One Card One Trip program, dubbed OK Otrip, is one of Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan’s key programs, which aims to enable commuters to use all modes of public transportation in the capital by paying a single fare of Rp 5,000 (37 US cents) per trip.

However, the city administration has yet to get all of the existing public transportation operators on board, including PT Metromini, despite the plan to launch the program on Jan. 15.

A Metromini bus owner, Ganda Sitinjak, said cooperation with city-owned bus operator Transjakarta, which has become the backbone of Jakarta’s public transportation, was not profitable.

By cooperating with Transjakarta, he said, owners would be paid on a “rupiah per kilometer” basis in an attempt to end the setoran system, in which drivers have to pay a set fee to owners to fulfill the daily revenue target.

Bus owners also have to pay Rp 70 million as a down-payment to start the partnership with Transjakarta.

“With an income of Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000 per day, obtaining the money is so challenging,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The city administration has long encouraged Metromini, which operates some 800 buses in the city, to join Transjakarta in the hope of saving its business, yet no Metromini bus owners have joined the scheme.

Those who have joined, did so individually and after ending their partnership with Metromini.

Dozens of Metromini drivers on Tuesday blocked Transjakarta buses serving the route between Blok M and Pondok Labu on Jl. Fatmawati, South Jakarta, saying the buses had sabotaged their route.

As Metromini had obtained permits to operate until the end of this year, Transjakarta’s move to launch the service in the area was unfair, Ganda said.

With the fare of Rp 4,000 per passenger per trip, Metromini would not be able to compete with the air-conditioned Transjakarta buses, which charge Rp 3,500.

“Our buses are still operating and we’ve obtained all the permits from the administration. We’re so disappointed that there is a Transjakarta service in our area,” Ganda said.

Besides Blok M and Pondok Labu, Transjakarta has also started operating at least seven new routes, such as from Pasar Minggu to Manggarai and Pasar Minggu to Tanah Abang, all of which have been served by Metromini.

Metromini president director Novrialdi condemned Transjakarta’s slow response to the company’s demand.

Several bus owners, who owned 12 buses between them, had agreed to partner with Transjakarta, and Metromini had delivered a partnership proposal to the company, he added.

On Oct. 31 last year, the transportation agency issued a recommendation letter asking Transjakarta to proceed with the partnership proposal, but the bus company has not responded.

“We see this as the city administration’s attempt to kill Metromini,” he said.

Transjakarta spokesman Wibowo said the company was still processing the administrative requirements for the partnership.

The cooperation between Transjakarta and Metromini, called “Trans Swadaya” would be implemented soon, he said.

Meanwhile, the city administration has only succeeded in cooperating with six angkot (public minivan) operators in the OK Otrip program, out of the targeted 11 companies.

The operators are Koperasi Wahana Kalpika (KWK), Komilet, Kolamas, Budi Luhur, Kopamolet and Purimas.

With the requirement to pay a deposit of Rp 11 million per vehicle per month during the first two months of the operation, the operators may find it hard to participate in the OK Otrip program.

Jakarta Transportation Agency deputy head Sigit Wijatmoko said the deposit was needed to prove that the operator could finance its operations for two months.

KWK acting chief Abdul Ghofur admitted that to fulfill the requirement was challenging.

“The requirement is a burden, but we have to meet it to join the OK Otrip program,” Abdul said.