Starting a public transportation service

[joshlim.718]

Hello everyone,

Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Josh, 28 from Indonesia.

I've decided to start a business on public transportation primarily on public buses on few selected routes in my country.

I have a budget of US $40k for this start up and I'm planning on to get 10 buses for a start.

I'm very new to this and but I do see the demand in my country for public transportation. What I'll like to know is

1) How do I plan the whole business
2) Who do I need to approach and seek approval from
3) Any issues I need to be concern of
4) How do I start an office handling administrative duty such as payroll for bus drivers (I think there might be a software which could handle this), aside from this what other administrative duty will be required for such business.

I know not everyone is from Indonesia and please feel free to share your general knowledge, procedures that is required from your country, business ideas and suggestions, starting a business (in general) etc.

I hope to hear from you guys soon.

Best regards,
Josh Lim

[tazman9r]

Certainly you are going to want to consult with someone from the city where you live who has a good grasp of the laws and possible liabilities of starting a public transportation system. They may be a big help in helping to get things going for you, especially if you can sell them on the idea that a bus service would benefit the city.

1) How do I plan the whole business

There are many business planning resources online, I would start there. Depending on the size and topography of your town, and if it's a small town how many of the roads are paved verses improved or unimproved, you'll have those logistical issues to plan for, including maintenance, fuel, the payments of the buses, employee pay, marketing, defining demand, etc. Your business plan will encompass all of this and define how you make a profit. With something like this, I strongly recommend you get as much of it completed as possible before approaching the city representative.

2) Who do I need to approach and seek approval from

The appropriate city representative will have that information for you.

3) Any issues I need to be concern of

Liability. Certainly liability is more of an issue here in the states, but if there are lawyers in Indonesia, and I am sure there are, you have it as a consideration. Also, the total logistical planning of the business.

4) How do I start an office handling administrative duty such as payroll for bus drivers (I think there might be a software which could handle this), aside from this what other administrative duty will be required for such business.

There are a few key aspects of a business like this.

1. Scheduling - you'll want a way to keep track of your scheduling for who's driving when and on what route. You can accomplish this with something a simple as a dry erase board if you have a small company, then move into more elaborate systems as you grow.

2. Payroll - I would definitely do this with a computer program.

3. Taxes - Don't know how they work in Indonesia, but you'll have them.

4. Maintenance - Along with drivers, you'll need competent mechanics to fix the buses and perform preventative maintenance to prevent larger breakdowns.

You may also need someone to do secretarial work, but probably not at first. You'll know what you need when you don't have it and run out of hours in the day to do it yourself.

Hope this helps.