APTB bus fares are likely to drop, as the Jakarta administration will pay operators per kilometer under the new system.

APTB fares range from Rp 10,000 (78 US cents) to Rp 17,000. If a passenger alights at a Transjakarta stop, he or she has to pay Rp 5,000 in addition to the Rp 3, 500 Transjakarta ticket.

According to Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) chairman Shafruhan Sinungan, APTB operators have agreed to the city administration'€™s plan for Transjakarta to coordinate the APTB operators, and will thus keep their routes.

'€œAll APTB operators will continue operating and their buses will continue plying their existing routes. All routes at some point use the dedicated Transjakarta lane. Therefore, we must adhere to the rules and standards set by Transjakarta,'€ Shafruhan told The Jakarta Post after a meeting with the Transportation Agency at the agency'€™s office in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

According to the Transportation Agency, there are six APTB bus operators: Perum PPD, PT Bianglala Metropolitan, PT Mayasari Bakti, PT Sinar Jaya Megah Langgeng, PT Hiba Utama and PT Agra Mas. There are a total of 183 APTB buses operating on 17 intercity routes, traveling to Jakarta from neighboring areas, such as Bekasi, Bogor and Cikarang, Ciputat and Poris Plawad in Tangerang.

Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama previously said that the city intended to change the way APTB buses operated, as their prices were continuing to increase while they used Transjakarta lanes but did not follow Transjakarta rules.

'€œThe city administration will pay APTB operators per kilometer, meaning an end to the setoran system. APTB operators will adjust the fares to those of Transjakarta. We will likely see a drop in fares,'€ Shafruhan said.

The setoran system obliges drivers to transport a minimum number of passengers, forcing them to prioritize finding as many as they can.

'€œAPTB bus operators will sign a new contract with PT Transjakarta and the city administration. We'€™ve asked for at least two months for preparation. Hopefully, the new system can start some time in May,'€ Shafruhan concluded.

Separately, Transportation Agency head of land transportation Emanuel Kristanto said that the APTB operators must improve their services and facilities before the new system begins, including by installing an onboard global positioning system (GPS).

Meanwhile, new bus operator PT Metro Kota Trans director Bambang Gunarto said that an 11-year evaluation of Transjakarta had recommended that the city administration make use of the roughly 500 buses involved in the faulty-bus case implicating Transportation Agency head Udar Pristono, who has been detained by the Attorney General'€™s Office. The buses, suspended by the city administration from usage, are now stored at a pool in Ciputat.

In 2014, the city allocated Rp 1 trillion (US$80 million) to procure 644 buses from China through a bidding process. The case came to light when only 125 buses had been received with Rp 400 billion of the total budget already disbursed.

Bambang said Jakarta should separate the graft case from bus procurement, saying that it would be better for the buses to be used.

'€œI have offered to operate 200 of the medium buses to replace Metromini buses that are too old or poorly maintained. The operational system would be similar to Transjakarta buses,'€ he explained.

Bambang said this would represent a speedy solution to fulfill the need for decent public transportation in Jakarta. '€œIt takes at least six months to procure new buses,'€ he said.

He added that the city administration and his company were still discussing his proposal.

• Feeder bus companies agree to adhere to Transjakarta rules in exchange for use of lanes
• APTB fares likely to drop following implementation
• Bus operator chief calls for use of 500 buses implicated in graft case

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