Awkwardly or creepily staring at strangers on the sideways-facing back seats of angkot minivan will soon be a thing of the past in Jakarta due to the imminent enforcement of a regulation regarding their seating configurations.
By February 2018, the Jakarta provincial government wants all angkot minivans in the capital to feature two rows of front-facing back seats, replacing the sideways-facing configuration currently adopted by most. The change is due to the Transportation Ministry’s regulations on public transportation vehicles issued in 2015 (one of those regulations designed to protect passenger safety and comfort that are blatantly ignored by many anyway — for example, did you know that the regulations state that it’s illegal for a vehicle to carry more passengers than its intended maximum capacity? You wouldn’t know it from how dangerously cramped some buses here can be).
“If the seats face forwards, the passenger capacity decreases. But comfort is guaranteed, so we’re doing this for comfort,” said Sigit Wijatmoko, deputy head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency, as quoted by Warta Kota yesterday.
Sigit added that, with the new seating configuration, angkots will be allowed to carry eight to 10 passengers at a time, meaning that they could be really cramped inside regardless.
The agency is also enforcing a regulation that all angkots be equipped with air conditioning by February. By that time, each angkot trip is also expected to cost a flat rate of IDR5,000, but with the possibility of continuing the trip on other forms of city-run public transportation options integrated under the new administration’s One Karcis (ticket), One Trip (OK-OTrip, ugh) program.
PT Astra Daihatsu Motor, the producer of many angkot minivans in the city, said the provincial government’s regulation to reposition the seats is impractical.
“If the seats face forwards, but the only entrance is through the side door, then it’ll be tough to get in and out. That’s why seats on angkots don’t face forwards right now,” said Amelia Tjandra, marketing director of PT Astra Daihatsu Motor.
