Transport system hit by safety woes

The Straits Times, February 28, 2007
By Azhar Ghani, Indonesia Bureau Chief



Crash and near-misses in Indonesia
Experts blame ageing infrastructure, growing demand for travel, lack of trained workers, corruption and greed




GLAD TO BE ALIVE: A passenger rescued from the ferry Levina I, which caught fire last Thursday, waving to waiting relatives as he arrives safely back on land.



IN JAKARTA - LAST week's fatal ferry fire was just the latest in a string of deadly accidents and near-misses to hit Indonesia's creaky transport network at sea, in the air and on land.

But it has given fresh urgency to the work of a committee set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last month and expected to recommend a raft of transport safety improvements in about a month.

And with the focus firmly on the country's abysmal transport safety record, problems identified by industry analysts and other experts include ageing infrastructure, growing demand for travel, lack of trained workers, corruption and greed.

About 50 people died after the ferry Levina I, packed with hundreds of people and on its way from Jakarta to Bangka Island off Sumatra, caught fire last Thursday.

Less than two months earlier, 400 people were left dead or missing when another ferry went down in a storm while on its way from Borneo to Java.

And anyone who thinks it might be safer to take a plane instead might want to think again - Indonesia last week grounded all of Adam Air's Boeing 737-300s after a hard landing left one of them bent almost in two.

While no one died or was seriously hurt in that incident, it came less than two months after one of the budget airline's planes crashed off Sulawesi with all 102 people on board. No survivors have been found.

Rail passengers have no reason to feel safe either. A number of trains have already derailed this year, including an accident in Java that left five people dead.

Anyone who had seen last year's Transport Ministry accident data would not have been particularly surprised by the incidents over the past two months.

Last year, there were 81 accidents at sea in which more than 500 people died; the rail network saw 79 accidents claim a total of 50 lives; and while there were no fatalities for air transport, there were 46 accidents, from burst tyres to planes sliding off runways.

Transport analysts believe the accidents result from a deadly combination of ageing infrastructure, the drive for profits trumping safety requirements, growing demand for travel and a lack of trained personnel.

The head of the country's anti-graft agency yesterday added corruption to the list.

Speaking to Reuters, Mr Taufiequrachman Ruki said: 'Look, don't see these kind of accidents as merely accidents...they also...indicate corruption in the procurement process.

'Indonesia is considered one of the risky countries for investors. And the root of the problem is law enforcement, corruption, bad infrastructure.'

Bad infrastructure would appear to be a particular problem for the railways.

Said Mr Bambang Susantono, head of independent think-tank the Indonesian Transportation Society: 'The fact that derailments happen so often shows that it has reached a critical age.

'It is about time for either a comprehensive upgrade, or for accidents.'

He noted that since the economic crisis of the late 1990s, investment in such upgrades has been a big problem for the government-run and regulated network.

When it comes to air travel, much of the problem seems to lie with the way budget airlines have mushroomed since the industry was liberalised in 1998.

Low-cost carriers accounted for about two-thirds of incidents reported on scheduled flights.

Analysts and industry insiders say competition for the domestic market of around 32 million air travellers has forced many of the players to reduce fares by cutting corners in maintenance and crew training.

It has been a similar story at sea, where stiff competition has led to overcrowding and overloading of cargo to maximise revenue, and a lack of investment in safety equipment such as life boats and life vests.

Meanwhile, researcher Danang Parikesit of Gadjah Mada University's Centre for Transportation and Logistics Studies, said: 'The accident statistics may be just important input for the transport authorities and service providers when making policies or business decisions.

'But for commuters, these numbers reflect the kind of risks they take on each time they get on a train, a ship or a plane.'