Fachrul Sidiq, Jakarta – Passengers of Transjakarta buses found themselves stranded in several areas across the capital on Monday as employees of the bus operator launched a strike to demand a better employment scheme.
Passenger Junianti Hutabarat, 25, arrived at the Jakarta State University bus shelter in East Jakarta for a bus heading to Klender, also in East Jakarta, to submit a job application at a private company. However, she said she had to cancel her plans because Transjakarta was not serving passengers that day.
"I was about to board to the bus, but a ticketing attendant told me that the busses were not operating," she said.
Transjakarta is a common mode of transportation among Jakartans due to its relatively cheap fare and extensive coverage. In a day, the bus regularly serves around 450,000 passengers.
"[Transjakarta] workers launched the strike to demand permanent [employee] status," said Jakarta Police traffic unit head Adj. Sr. Comr. Budiyanto.