Well, it’s been awhile since we’ve had a story about a TransJakarta bus bursting into flame, not since the Provincial Government began replacing old buses with sleek ones from Europe.
But some of the troublesome old buses still remain, as were reminded when one of them spontaneously combusted in Cawang, East Jakarta, on Thursday, December 1.
“We’re thankful that there were no casualties as the passengers were evacuated. The fire came from the dashboard [from an electrical failure],” said PT TransJakarta First Director Budi Kaliwono, as quoted by Merdeka today.
The bus, which had the fleet number 504, was manufactured by Chinese auto-makers Ankai. All the other TransJakarta buses that spontaneously combusted while in service in the past were also made in China.
Following the incident, TransJakarta temporarily recalled all 66 Ankai buses they have in their fleet for inspection.
“After we checked them, our buses were in good condition. The engines were in good condition. There were actually no problems with bus 504, it was a reliable bus,” Budi said.
Well, if a bus that is supposedly in good condition can still spontaneously combust, maybe it’s time to replace its kind with ones guaranteed not to suddenly go up in flames. In other words, more buses from Europe, please.
