TransJakarta buses have surged in popularity this year, reaching an all-time record high of 11.5 million passengers in August. Part of the reason behind the success must be attributed to the fact that the Jakarta provincial government has been bringing in new, higher quality buses to replace the old ones. Luckily for the capital’s commuters, they’re not showing any signs of slowing down.
Yesterday, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama commissioned 116 new buses that were purchased for TransJakarta at a launch event in Monas. The buses were purchased from German auto manufacturers Mercedes Benz and Swedish auto manufacturers Scania, continuing the recent trend of the provincial government buying high-quality buses from Europe instead of China, as they had been doing previously. Several Chinese-manufactured TransJakarta buses have spontaneously combusted while in service in the past.
“I want the best buses in the world to be in Jakarta,” Ahok said during the event, as quoted by Detik yesterday.
With this new addition, PT TransJakarta First Director Budi Kaliwono said that the TransJakarta fleet now consists of 1,347 buses that are all ready for service. The company is targeting to have a fleet of 3,000 buses in 2017.
In addition, PT TransJakarta also plans to purchase 300 low entry bus units that would serve passengers outside of the designated busway lanes. These buses would replace old inner city buses such as Kopaja, Metro Mini, and Maya Sari.
Reader Interactions