Jakarta Public Transportation Organizers Urge People Not To Leave Their Houses

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - A number of people continue to access public transportation facilities such as TransJakarta and Moda Raya Terpadu (MRT) even though the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has reduced its fleet due to the spread of the corona virus or COVID-19. Due to the limitations of the fleet, people became difficult and queued for hours to access this public transportation.

Responding to the congestion in TransJakarta, Head of the Corporate Secretary and Public Relations Division of PT Transportation Jakarta Nadia Diposanjoyo advised the public to stay at home if there is no urgent need to carry out instructions from President Joko Widodo and an appeal from the World Health Organization (WHO).

"This is in accordance with instructions from the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and appeal from the World Health Organization, WHO in an effort to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 or Corona Virus by working worship and studying at home," Nadia told reporters through her written statement, Monday, March 16th.

If indeed the community is forced to leave the house, Nadia urges TransJakarta service users to continue to follow directions from officers either on the bus or at the bus stop. In addition, passengers are also advised to limit their movement and contact with other people. The goal is to prevent the spread of the virus in the crowd.

"People are still advised to limit their space and contact with other individuals by limiting their space and gathering for a while to minimize the spread of the virus. For that, of course we ask for the understanding and patience of our loyal customers, for the common good," he said.

Regarding the mobility of customer service, Nadia said that his company is currently deploying a total of 290 bus units consisting of a combination of Maxi buses and articulated buses and will serve in 13 Transjakarta corridors.

Meanwhile, to anticipate the accumulation of passengers, Nadia asked Transjakarta transportation users to adjust their travel time to avoid rush hour and the possibility of jostling on the bus.

"As a reminder, our operation this afternoon is only until 18.00 WIB, so we urge customers to arrange the best possible schedule for the return trip home before 18.00 WIB and again ensure that they do not jostle."

Meanwhile, Head of the Corporate Secretary Division of PT MRT Jakarta (Perseroda), Muhamad Kamaluddin, said that their fleet restrictions were in line with the coordination carried out by the government to limit movement in cities.

To avoid queues, Kamaluddin asked the public to carry out his appeal to study, work and worship from home. Moreover, based on government directives, currently public transportation in Jakarta is only focused on workers who need to deal with COVID-19 such as medical workers or other public services that cannot be done from home.

"Today's public transport services are not intended for the mobility of normal workers to the office, who have been urged to work from home," said Kamaluddin.

He then said there were four stations that were packed with prospective passengers. Among them are Lebak Bulus, Fatmawati, Cipete, and Dukuh Atas stations. As for the other nine stations, Kamaluddin said that all queues were declared normal.

"Outside of rush hour, it still runs normally. If you look at the station, social distancing is maintained, the trains are also far away," he said.

"This is actually a higher risk of transmission inside the train, because the room is closed, air-conditioned, there are many people. Meanwhile, there is still air circulation outside," he concluded.