Most of the blame for the tragic crash between a Metromini bus and a KRL Commuterline at a railway crossing that killed 18 in Tubagus Angke, Tambora, West Jakarta yesterday can be attributed to the driver of the Metromini, who reportedly drove onto the train tracks after the crossing gates had gone down.
It’s no surprise that Metromini buses often get into accidents, given how most of their drivers’ seems to regard traffic laws as nothing more than a nuisance.
It seems that the only way to reduce Metromini-related accidents is to get rid of the run down buses themselves, and that is precisely what the government says it is doing.
The Jakarta Transportation Agency is today abolishing the B80 Kalideres Jembatan Lima Metromini bus route following the deadly crash yesterday.
“We assure you, tomorrow (Monday) we’ll abolish the bus route. We also reassure you that there won’t be any future permits for [Metromini] on that route,” said Andri Yansyah, head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.
Andri added that the agency has actually been annulling Metromini permits throughout the year as they look to replace the city’s old buses with new ones.
“In this year alone, we have abolished permits to 1,500 [Metromini] routes. Currently there are still 3,000 routes,” he said.
We hope this is more than just talk and that the government is serious about ridding the city of old buses like the Metromini and Kopaja. It’s definitely in everybody’s best interest to get more competent bus drivers and new city buses as well.
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