T

he city administration has decided to let angkot (public minivans) operate on Jl. Jati Baru Raya in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, following a series of protests staged by angkot drivers demanding the reopening of the street, which had been closed by the administration to accommodate street vendors.

As of Saturday, angkot in Tanah Abang are allowed to operate on Jl. Jati Baru Raya from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. while from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the route shall be cleared for the Transjakarta Explorer service.

Angkot will share a lane with Transjakarta as the other lane is still closed to accomodate hundreds of hawkers.

The decision was taken after Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno and some related agencies held a meeting with the representatives of angkot owners and drivers at City Hall on Friday.

Sandiaga said the traffic management measures were temporary as the city administration would integrate angkot services in Tanah Abang with One Card One Trip (OK OTrip), his flagship program to integrate public transportation in the capital.

The arrangement of the OK OTrip program in Tanah Abang would be finished within one month, he added.

“With this agreement, we want to restore justice for angkot drivers and public transportation owners,” Sandiaga said.

He added that with OK OTrip, angkot drivers would get some benefits, such as a salary in accordance with the provincial minimum wage (UMP) of Rp 3.6 million as well as a holiday bonus.

The drivers would also be registered with the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), Sandiaga said.

The city administration would also help angkot operators to procure new vehicles to replace angkot over 10 years old, he added.

Sitombuk, an angkot owner who attended the meeting, said he accepted the solutions offered by the administration.

“As a ‘small’ businessman, I’m sure it’s the best for us. We don’t object to the administration’s plan to implement OK OTrip,” he said at the press conference.

On Monday, angkot drivers staged a protest on Jl. Jati Baru Raya and blocked the route of a Transjakarta Explorer, forcing the bus to stop its operation until Friday.

Some drivers said their income had been reduced by 50 percent since the city administration decided to close the street for the hawkers and operate Transjakarta Explorer buses that were free of charge.

The drivers again held a protest at City Hall on Wednesday, with some representatives meeting with Sandiaga to voice their complaints.

Jakarta Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah said the administration would later pay angkot owners on a rupiah per kilometer scheme.

“We will pay angkot owners Rp 3,459 [US 24 cents] per kilometer while waiting for the tariff revision,” Andri said.

It has previously been reported that Kopamilet Jaya, Komilet Jaya, Komika, Kolamas Jaya and Purimas Jaya, previously set to join OK OTrip have backed out because the per km rate set by the administration was deemed too low.

The other two operators that are still set to join the program are Budi Luhur and Koperasi Wahana Kalpika (KWK).

Petrus Tukimin, the head of Kolamas Jaya, who have 15 angkot in Tanah Abang, said the solution offered by the administration might only benefit the drivers.

During the meeting on Friday, the administration said angkot owners could get about Rp 600,000 per day if one vehicle could travel a distance of 190 km, Petrus said.

The problem with the proposal was that angkot in Tanah Abang only traveled short distances of about 10 to 12 km per trip.

“If the drivers make 10 trips per day, they only travel a distance of 120 km. This means the administration would only pay us around Rp 300,000 per day. Angkot owners won’t accept this proposal,” he said.

The angkot operators would meet with the transportation agency on Monday to talk further about the OK OTrip scheme, Petrus said.

He hoped the city administration would expand angkot routes in Tanah Abang so the fare per km scheme could benefit them.