I

t might be hard to imagine drivers of clapped-out Metro Mini and Kopaja buses winning awards for driving smoothly, safely and in compliance with traffic regulations, but Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo believes it is possible.

The governor expressed his hope during an award ceremony for winners of a safe-driving competition at Pasar Minggu bus terminal in South Jakarta on Friday. '€œI want to see Metro Mini, Kopaja and minivan drivers become winners. It will be something new. Taxi drivers and Transjakarta drivers have done it,'€ he said as quoted by Kompas.com.

He added, '€œNext year, the winners should be Metromini, Kopaja and minivans drivers, ok?'€.

His remarks drew loud applause from people who attended the event, which was held by the city administration and the Transportation Agency.

For years, Metro Mini, Kopaja and minivan drivers have built up a bad reputation due to their errant driving styles and the less-than-road-worthy state of their vehicles.

Jokowi urged the city'€™s Transportation Agency to launch a safe-driving campaign for the drivers of these public transportation vehicles to avoid future accidents.

In June, an accident involving a Metro Mini minibus, which left a student dead and two others injured, provoked public outrage. It was later found that the Metro Mini driver did not have a driver'€™s license and was not an official driver. The minibus was also found to have
neither functioning brakes nor a clutch. Last year, a Metro Mini hit a police station in Semanggi, South Jakarta.

The 10 winners of the safe-driving competition comprised two Transjakarta bus drivers and eight taxi drivers. They beat 140 other entrants from various transportation companies in the competition that featured tests on traffic safety, driver'€™s knowledge and a driving simulation.

The event also selected 10 winners from 150 Senior High School students in a category of students promoting safety driving.

Head of the Transportation Agency Udar Pristono said his agency had invited the owners of Metro Mini and Kopaja buses and minivans to send their representatives to enter the competition. However, none showed up.

He told The Jakarta Post that next year, the agency planned to draft a program to familiarize the drivers with safe driving by collaborating with the National Police'€™s Center of Traffic Education Training in Serpong, Tangerang.

The agency will start the program by identifying permanent drivers who work for the public bus companies or associations.

'€œWe hope in the future, we will be able to produce good drivers as expected by the governor, if, God willing, they join next year'€™s event,'€ he said in a text message.

The city administration plans to integrate the management of Metro Mini minibuses, currently owned by a number of individuals under PT Metromini, as part of its efforts to improve public transportation in the capital.