Bus Crew’s Hope for Big Gains Crumbles

The opportunity for bus crew to reap cash gains has dissipated, yet again as people hold back from traveling. Mudik [exodus] is prohibited as the government aims to curb the spread of Covid-19.

KOMPAS/I GUSTI AGUNG BAGUS ANGGA PUTRA

Bus crews offer transportation services to ship passengers who have just arrived at Merak Port, Banten, Wednesday (28/4/2021). The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the number of ship passengers to drop dramatically.

Four bus driver assistants waved to solicit a group of people walking out of the Merak ferry port, Banten, Tuesday afternoon (27/4/2021). However, the people responded by shaking their heads. The group has apparently gotten used to failing to draw passengers these days as Andi Setiawan (25) has.

He has not managed to get a single passenger in the last three days. Working for Asli Prima bus operator, providing services for Merak-Kalideres (Jakarta) route, he said that amid uncertainty, he had opted not to return home to Cipulir, South Jakarta due to costly fuel and toll tickets while earnings have drastically dropped.

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"I can do nothing but sleeping on the bus. To take a bath, I use public toilets,” he said.

The bus crew is certainly to pass Idul Fitri with dried coffers. Deni (38), driver of Armada Jaya Perkasa bus operator for the Merak-Bandung route, recalled his son\'s request for new clothes for Idul Fitri celebrations. "Let alone buying clothes, meeting food needs has been difficult," he said, somehow exaggerating the issue.

Based on the data at Merak office of PT Indonesia Ferry (Persero), which runs river, lake and ferry transportation, 40 ships operated every day in 2019, before decreasing to 18 ships in 2020, with passengers going down from 1.3 million to 50,171 in the same period.

I can do nothing but sleeping on the bus. To take a bath, I use public toilets.

People have started to travel less since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. The condition has not improved. The government has again imposed tight scrutiny at a number of checkpoints on travelers from May 6 to 17. The policy aims to prevent people from making trips to hometowns for Lebaran to curb the spread of Covid-19.

KOMPAS/KRISTI DWI UTAMI

A man passes near buses parked at Dukuhsalam Terminal, Slawi District, Tegal Regency, Central Java, Friday (23/4/2021). The terminal, which usually departs and arrives by tens of thousands of passengers every day, is now quiet due to the pandemic and the policy of  mudik ban (exodus/going home).

Around 444 kilometers east to Merak, bus drivers and assistants at Dukuhsalam Terminal in Tegal, Central Java, are desperately coping with the dire situation.

The terminal used to take tens of thousands of passengers a day but it is now almost deserted.

Taufik (35), who has served as a driver for 11 years for inter-city and inter-province commuters, said that he had not returned home for five days. "I don\'t dare to go home, because I don\'t have any money. My bus has been forced to cancel its trip to Jakarta because there were only three people on board. It\'s already the fourth day we have failed to leave,” he said languidly.

In the lead up to Lebaran, Taufik would normally earn Rp 1.5 million a week but is now only making Rp 130,000, which he said is the worst situation he has ever been in as a driver.

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According the data at the bus operators association Organda of Tegal, the mudik ban has impacted crew members of at least 700 buses. Organda Tegal chairman Kusmuwanto has appealed to the government to provide cash assistance for the bus crew, who will now have suffered for the last two Lebarans.

In Cirebon, West Java, Primajasa bus operator’s officer Khudori (49) claimed to have lost 70 percent of his income since the pandemic. In fact, he must meet the cost of education for his children in junior high and elementary school while the youngest, who is three years old, still needs fulfillment for milk.

Almost all bus administrators, drivers, and conductors [driver assistants] are now turning to other jobs, such as motorcycle taxi drivers, laborers, and pedicab drivers.

Trying to survive, he and his wife do a side job at a cake producing factory in the neighborhood, which gives them a daily income of around 30,000.

"Almost all bus administrators, drivers, and conductors [driver assistants] are now turning to other jobs, such as motorcycle taxi drivers, laborers, and pedicab drivers," he said at Harjamukti Bus Terminal, Cirebon.

KOMPAS/STEFANUS ATO

Karmun (61), a bus crew, when met at Pulo Gebang Terminal, East Jakarta, Tuesday (27/4/2021). He has been staying at the terminal for three days.

Luckily for driver Chepi Imron (43), who serves the Kuningan-Merak trip, he was still able to capitalize on the travelers who left for hometowns earlier when the ban was still not in effect. He said he earned up to two millions from April 28 to May 4 or one day before the ban was enforced.

Bus operator Sinar Jaya Group President Director Teddy Rusli said that his company had been forced to turn to reserve funds to pay for bus operational costs and employee salaries.

However, he said, he got assisted by the implementation of “sticker” policy, by which transport operators are allowed to take non-mudik travelers.

Impact

Adita Irawati, the Transportation Ministry’s expert staff for human resource management and public relations, said the mudik ban was enforced based on past experiences that mass mobility would always contribute to a spike of Covid-19 positive cases.

The trend is showed in Bersatu Lawan Covid-19 [united against Covid-19] data, dated April 4, at the Transportation Ministry, showing the gap between long holidays and the spike in positive cases ranges from 10 to 14 days with the impact lasting for three weeks at the minimum.

After the Idul Fitri break from 22-25 May 2020, massive increase broke out over 26-28 June, with daily rise reaching 68-93 percent and weekly deaths 28-66 percent.

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Meanwhile, the bus crew situation seems to become a concern at the House of Representatives with Selly A Gantina, member of Commission VIII, deploring the absence in the social protection measures for the impacted crew members.

"Is it possible to provide a social safety net for bus drivers and those affected by the mudik ban?" asked Selly.

Adita said the Transportation Ministry had proposed a scheme of compensation and incentives for the affected bus operators to the Finance Ministry and the Office of the Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister.

One day prior to the ban enforcement, the reality of distributing compensation and incentives was not yet on the horizon. (IGA/CAS/ERK/IKI/VAN/TAM/XTI)

This article was translated by Musthofid.