Mary Anugrah Rasita – The deaths of at least 44 people in a series of accidents involving buses this year has prompted commuters, operators and analysts to call for a complete rethink of the public transportation system.

At least 11 accidents have been reported since Jan. 1 in Java alone, almost all of which involved multiple fatalities. In the deadliest incident, 14 people were killed when a driver lost control of his bus in the hilly Puncak area of Bogor and slammed into several vehicles and roadside stalls.

Although officials have responded with spot-checks on drivers and their vehicles at bus terminals across the country, not everyone is convinced that the drivers should be held solely responsible for the accidents.

"I would say the problem lies with the lack of a shift system to allow drivers to take a rest during long cross-country journeys," says Agus Mianto, a Jakarta-based security guard who often takes an intercity bus when traveling to his hometown in East Java. Nor is the issue of training a factor, say the drivers.

"All intercity bus drivers get monthly training from our companies, be it for safety assurance or to evaluate our performance," says Asep Tatang, a driver for bus line Prima Jasa.

He says plans to require more training will accomplish little. "No matter how strict they want the training to be, if the driver can't comply with the set standards, it will be a waste in the end," he says.

Breaking even

Another problem that he says needs addressing is the commission system by which drivers are paid. Concerned with the bottom line, they often overload their vehicles – sometimes with fatal consequences.

"I earn just 15 percent of the total amount in fares that I collect on each journey," Asep says. "I can't begin to explain just how disappointing it is when I get just a small number of passengers on a journey. When that happens, what do I stand to earn? You can do the math."

Packing public transportation vehicles to beyond capacity is not just a problem on intercity buses, however. Hotman Sitio, who drives one of Jakarta's notorious Metro Mini buses, says he has to pay Rp 230,000 ($25) a day to the bus's owner, so he packs his vehicle and tries to make as many trips in a day as possible to ensure he can at least break even.

"The transportation industry is deteriorating," he says. "I admit I drive recklessly every day, but that's because I need to get as many passengers as possible. If the system was changed so that drivers got a steady income instead of having to chase a target, I wouldn't drive like that any more. But I don't think that will ever happen."

Hotman says the target system also forces some drivers to ask their friends, in many cases unlicensed, to work extra shifts for them so that they can make more money.

'Wrong core concept'

For the bus owners, however, the main problems are shoddy infrastructure, a dearth of government facilities and the rising cost of vehicles.

Eka Sari Lorena Soerbakti, chairwoman of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), contends that if the government is really serious about getting more people to commute on public transportation, it should support the operators by improving roads and facilities such as terminals and bus stops.

"It seems like the government actually prefers that people buy their own cars instead, she says. "Therefore, I assume the core concept of public transportation here has been wrong all along."

She also equates rising bus prices to the "rape of public transportation services." "How are we supposed to revitalize our fleets in the interests of safety if the vehicle prices continue to be increased arbitrarily and we are barred from importing vehicles?" she says.

Bus owners also attribute their high operating costs to unfriendly financing terms. The annual bank interest rate for a car loan is currently around 4.5 percent, while for public transportation vehicles it is 12 percent.

The Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI), a nongovernmental group, says the management of the transportation sector needs to be shaken up. "There must be fundamental, radical changes throughout the sector," says Tulus Abadi, the YLKI manager.

Among these changes, he says, is a switch to giving drivers fixed salaries. He also suggests privatizing the issuance of transportation licenses, which he says are often issued to anyone who can pay for them, without background checks or due diligence. "These licenses shouldn't be seen as a cash cow for regional authorities," he says.

Another practice he denounces is the levying of illegal feels on bus and truck drivers by both officials and members of the public to pass through certain areas, a practice known as pungli.

Bad management

Rudi Thehamiharja, an independent transportation analyst, agrees that the bulk of problems lie not with drivers or operators but with transportation officials.

It is the officials, he contends, who must properly enforce the transportation regulations that they have drawn up. "After all, it's the Transportation Ministry that issues permits to operators," he says.

The Transportation Ministry must also carry out a comprehensive audit of the public transportation system and be more diligent about screening operators applying for permit renewal, he says.

Amid the furor over the recent fatalities, the House of Representatives has proposed amending the 2004 Law on Roads. Saleh Husin, from House Commission V, which oversees transportation and infrastructure affairs, said management of roads was "considerably bad," but added that any amendments would have to be kept "in line with the 2009 Traffic Law."

The state's National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN) insists that most public transportation accidents can be attributed to bad driving and vehicles that are not roadworthy.

It says bus operators must be more selective about the people they hire. A major problem it highlights is that bus drivers often exceed speed limits. Still, the BPKN concedes that the government needs to do more in terms of tightening up its system for issuing operating and driver's licenses.

Mayhem on Indonesia roads: A rundown of crashes

Jan. 1: A Maju Jaya bus from Sumedang to Jakarta plunges into a ravine in Sumedang, West Java, killing 10 people.

Jan. 6: A Restu bus hits a dump truck on the Surabaya-Porong highway in E. Java, killing one.

Jan. 9: A Rajawali bus hits a minivan in Semarang, killing five people.

Jan. 27: A Damri bus hits a woman in Bandung, killing her.

Jan. 30: Reported brake problems on a bus result in a 15-vehicle pileup on the Jagorawi highway. There were no fatalities.

Feb. 3: A Mayasari bus hits a motorcycle in Senen, Jakarta, killing the motorcycle driver.

Feb. 7: A Luragung Jaya bus collides with a container truck, killing three in Indramayu, W. Java.

Feb. 9: A Sumber Kencono bus hits a car and falls off a 30-meter-high embankment into a river in Magetan, East Java, killing two people.

Feb. 10: A Kurnia Bhakti bus from Garut to Jakarta hits several vehicles in Puncak, Bogor, killing 14.

Feb. 12: A tourist bus from Bandung to Cirebon, W. Java, crashes into several other vehicles, killing three people.

Feb. 13: A Mira bus from Surabaya to Yogyakarta hits a tree in Ngawi, East Java, killing four people.

Total fatalities: 44

[Additional reporting by JG/Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Antara.]