Transjakarta to get new management form

Transjakarta to get new management form: City administration
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration has decided to take over the running of the busway, although current manager BP TransJakarta will still control the day-to-day handling of the successful bus line.

Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo said the change in the organizational form was meant to enable TransJakarta to be more flexible when working with foreign and domestic investors.

"We think it's the best option for TransJakarta so it can grow faster to become a company," he said.

Fauzi said that as busway usage increased among Jakartans, TransJakarta would have to expand its services and would need a huge amount of investment.

After opening two new routes early this year, the number of passengers increased 27 percent, from 1.8 million in December 2005 to 2.3 million in January.

Four more busway routes are planned for construction this year.

The four new routes will take passengers from Pulogadung in East Jakarta to Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta; Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Ancol in North Jakarta; Ragunan to Kuningan, both in South Jakarta; and from Kampung Rambutan to Kampung Melayu, both in East Jakarta.

The city will have a total of seven routes by next year.

Nadicorp Holdings Sdn. Bhd., one of Malaysia's largest transportation conglomerates, last month expressed interest in jointly operating the corridors.

In its current form, Badan Pengelola (BP) Transjakarta, under the authority of the Transportation Agency, cannot cooperate with other parties without the agency's approval.

Under the new management format, which is expected to be effective within a month, Transjakarta will have more independence, receiving its budget directly from the city administration.

Member of Commission B on economy and trade Selamat Nurdin said the change in management form would be allowed, as long as it would enhance Transjakarta's service to the public.

"The new form of public service board will make it serve the public more. But I hope the administration consider carefully when cooperating with foreign investors, because, as a new institution, Transjakarta is still staggering, especially in its financial condition," he said.

The administration must choose investors that could provide low interest investments, so that the management would be safe from highly indebted risk, said Nurdin. (06)