DPRD Will Call Transjakarta After Microtrans Driver Demo

Demonstrations of microtrans drivers who are members of JakLingko/PHOTO partners: Diah Ayu-VOI

JAKARTA - Member of Commission B of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Gilbert Simanjuntak, said that his party would summon PT Transjakarta and the DKI Transportation Agency in the near future.

This is related to the demonstration by Microtrans drivers who voiced a number of complaints.

The drivers felt that there was discrimination against the distribution of fleet absorption quotas that joined the JakLingko system to the payment of rupiah per kilometer which was deemed incomparable.

On that basis, the DPRD will ask Transjakarta for an explanation regarding the complaints of the Microtrans drivers.

"We will call Transjakarta for this dialogue, responding to what they said. Is the demands they conveyed are true, or are they just one-sided observations," Gilbert told reporters, Tuesday, July 30.

Gilbert understands that Microtrans drivers ask Transjakarta to fulfill their wishes for a nominal payment of rupiah per kilometer for each fleet carrying passengers.

However, the DPRD also needs to explore whether the demands of the Jak Lingko drivers can be met with a nominal subsidy budgeted from the APBD through a public service obligation (PSO) to Transjakarta.

"We have given it since the beginning of PSO, which swells every year. But are we then able to defend it? No," explained Gilbert.

"In common sense, PSO will decrease because of other needs. It's impossible for all of that to be downloaded up to Rp3 trillion (PSO every year)," he continued.

Today, hundreds of Microtrans drivers held a demonstration at the DKI Jakarta City Hall. They also brought fleets parked along Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan. Congestion was inevitable.

Microtrans drivers demonstrated with a number of demands. One of them complained about the distribution of the Microtrans procurement quota as a substitute for regular fleets such as Metromini and angkot for partnering operators.

These drivers considered that there was discrimination from PT Transjakarta in Jak Lingko's policy. Of the 11 partner operators, there is 1 operator that is neglected by Transjakarta because it gets the quota for the absorption of the fleet at most compared to the others.

Then, the Microtrans driver also demanded that Transjakarta approve the payment of rupiah per kilometer of the fleet they submitted. This is because they are required to operate their fleet with a target of 100 kilometers per day with 28 working days in one month.