Kemenhub-Surabaya City Government Launches Trans Semanggi Suroboyo Bus Friends

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SURABAYA - The Ministry of Transportation and the Surabaya City Government launched Teman Bus through the Buy The Service (BTS) program on Trans Semanggi Suroboyo at Surabaya City Hall, East Java.

"The BTS concept is a concept in which operators are paid in rupiah per kilometer. So, once the wheels roll, how many kilometers according to the established SOP, that's what we will pay for," said Director of Road Transportation of the Directorate General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation Suharto at the launch. Friends of the Bus was reported by Antara, Wednesday, December 29.

Present at the inauguration were Secretary to the Director (Sesditjen) General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation Marta Hadisarwono, Director of Road Transportation of the Directorate General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation Suharto, Mayor of Surabaya Eri Cahyadi, Head of Surabaya Transportation Agency Irvan Wahyudrajat, and the ranks of the municipal government and the Forkopimda of the City of Surabaya.

The inauguration was marked by cutting the strands of jasmine and breaking the control at Trans Semanggi Suroboyo. In fact, they immediately tried to ride the Trans Semanggi Suroboyo around the front of the Surabaya City Hall.

Director of Road Transport Suharto said that Trans Semanggi Suroboyo was a new paradigm shift that so far several other big cities outside Surabaya, carried out their operations using the passenger transportation system or better known as the mandatory deposit system to the skipper.

Therefore, he continued, the launch this time was named Teman Bus, which stands for Economical, Easy, Safe, and Comfortable Transportation. Therefore, he hopes that Trans Semanggi Suroboyo will become the backbone or mass transit passengers in the city of Surabaya and become a mass transportation service in the agglomeration area of East Java.

"Economic transportation in the sense that it is close to paying the same price. Although we still rely on zero rupiah because, we are still waiting for government regulations or the Minister of Finance regulation that regulates BTS tariffs. God willing, in the near future the Minister of Finance regulation will be issued and can be implemented. The plan, For students, fares are close to Rp. 2,000 and for general passengers, Rp. 3,000," he said.

While transportation is easy, Suharto explained that Trans Semanggi Suroboyo is equipped with IT that users or residents can easily download the Teman Bus application on the Play Store.

With this application, prospective passengers can easily determine where to get on and off, what time the bus will arrive and what time it will arrive at its destination. "In essence, there will be convenience," he said.

Furthermore, for safe transportation, he ensures that the Trans Semanggi Suroboyo is equipped with CCTV which can monitor passengers, including being able to monitor the movements of the driver.

If the driver is negligent or does not follow the SOP, it will be subject to a penalty to the operator concerned. "Convenient transportation, we make sure the bus is comfortable. In addition to using air conditioning, this bus is also equipped with other facilities, so as to make the passengers comfortable," he said.

Meanwhile, Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi said that the inauguration of the Trans Semanggi Suroboyo Bus Friends was an honor for the City of Surabaya because it was trusted by the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation to run this BTS.

He is also committed to continuing to develop mass transportation or public transportation, but public transportation is safe and comfortable.

"This is one of the answers to safe and comfortable mass transportation," he said.

According to him, the 104 buses from the Ministry of Transportation will serve six corridors, namely corridor 1 (Purabaya Terminal to Tanjung Perak via Jalan Raya Darmo), corridor 2 (Lidah Wetan Road-Karang Menjangan-ITS), corridor 3 (Terminal Purabaya-Kenjeran via Merr), corridor 4 (GBT-UNESA-Mastrip), corridor 5 (Benowo-Tunjungan Terminal), corridor 6 (Purabaya Terminal-UNAIR Campus C).

"Starting January 1, 2022, we will start one corridor first, namely Jalan Raya Lidah Wetan-Karang Menjangan-ITS. Others will follow, and even later there will be electric buses too," he said.

Therefore, he invites all residents of the city of Surabaya to jointly use this public transportation. The goal is to reduce congestion and reduce pollution, if there are many cars and many motorbikes, it can cause traffic jams and a lot of pollution.

"Let's try this bus together, feel and enjoy this bus. I thank the Ministry of Transportation and the East Java Provincial Government for supporting this program. Hopefully this can provide tremendous benefits for the people of the City of Surabaya," he said.