Cirebon – Hundreds of bus owners grouped under the West Java and Central Java Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) demanded on Thursday the release of 117 buses currently impounded by the Jakarta office of the Ministry of Transportation, apparently without good reason.

In a media conference on Thursday, spokesman of the protesting bus owners Iskandar Agus Banadji said that they demanded Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso immediately release the buses, which were seized last month. "We will report the case to Jakarta provincial legislative council and other government institutions, should the governor allow the impoundment of those buses to continue," Iskandar said.

He claimed that the intercity buses were impounded without good reason and the Jakarta administration had sought a "ransom payment" for their release.

"For each bus, they sought Rp 1.5 million to Rp 5 million in 'compensation money'," Iskandar charged, adding that a bus company suffered Rp 500,000 in losses per bus per day due to the impoundment.

The bus owners threatened to stage a protest, along with the crews, at the Jakarta administration if their demands were ignored.