Diluted 4 Days During Lebaran, Sopir Angkot Puncak Can Get Rp800 Thousand Compensation

JAKARTA - Drivers and owners of city transportation (angkot) in the Puncak area, Bogor Regency, West Java, have again received compensation funds from the West Java Provincial Government for not operating for four days during the Lebaran holiday this year.

Head of the Bogor Bayu Ramawanto Regency Transportation Office said the policy was to reduce traffic density in the Puncak tourist area during the homecoming and Eid al-Fitr holidays.

"This year, the West Java Provincial Government has again provided compensation funds for angkot in Puncak because it is willing not to operate for four days during the Lebaran holiday," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, February 9.

He explained that the number of compensation recipients is estimated to reach around 2,000 people consisting of angkot owners and drivers. Each recipient receives a fund of Rp. 200 thousand per day for four days or a total of Rp. 800 thousand per person.

He said that one angkot generally has three compensation recipients consisting of one owner and two drivers. However, in practice, there are also vehicles that only have one or two recipients.

The angkot involved in the program comes from three main routes operating in the Puncak area, including local angkot 02C route Pasir Muncang-Ciawi with 73 vehicles.

In addition, the 02B route Sukasari-Cibedug is an inter-city transport within the province (AKDP) with 175 vehicles and the 02A route Sukasari-Cisarua with 530 vehicles.

He explained that the policy of temporarily stopping angkot operations in the Puncak area during the Lebaran holiday had been implemented in recent years as part of the traffic management strategy.

He assessed that the policy was quite effective in helping to reduce vehicle density on the Puncak tourist route, which every year becomes one of the locations of congestion during the holiday season.

"According to the police, this method is effective, because the police feel that there is a 30 percent decrease in the intensity of the congestion," said Bayu.