PO Haryanto

PO Haryanto was founded in 2002 by Corporal Haryanto, a retired Indonesian Army from Kudus, Central Java. Before entering the world of transportation, Corporal Haryanto served in the 1st Air Defense Artillery Battalion/Kostrad in Tangerang. During his service, he worked as a driver heavy equipment, transporting cannons, rice logistics for soldiers, and petroleum needs. With a relatively small earnings, which is around Rp. 18,000 per month, he is used to living simply and looking for additional income.^[2] One of the side jobs he once had was being a bus ticket agent, which later became his entry into the world of transportation business.^[3]

Armed with this experience and the courage to take risks, Corporal Haryanto decided to establish a bus company after retirement. With the help of a loan from a bank, he purchased six buses as initial capital. He named the company Haryanto, after his own name. The fleet initially operated to serve the Cikarang–Cimone route. However, after operating for some time, this route was deemed unprofitable due to low passenger numbers. This situation prompted Corporal Haryanto to take a strategic step by changing the service concept of his fleet to executive-class buses. ^[4]

This concept change was followed by a shift from the Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek) route to an intercity route. PO Haryanto then began a major expansion by opening long-distance travel routes Jakarta–Kudus, Jakarta–Pati, and Jakarta–Jepara. This decision proved to be the right one, as passenger demand on these routes was much more stable and promising. Since then, PO Haryanto has slowly but surely shown significant growth and is known as a reliable intercity bus operator, especially in the northern part of Central Java. ^[4]

The company's growth accelerated when PO Haryanto began expanding its business. In 2009, the company opened the Madura Division, marking its first expansion outside the Muria Raya area and beyond Java. ^[5] Three years later, in 2012, further expansion took place with the opening of the Surakarta Division to serve southern routes. The success of these various expansions cannot be separated from the big role of Rian Mahendra, son of Corporal Haryanto, who is known to have a strong vision and innovation in bus transportation management.^[6]

Entering the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, PO Haryanto faced major challenges like many other transportation companies. In this difficult situation, Rian Mahendra tried to keep the company operating, one of which was by opening a Pekalongan route, which was warmly welcomed by the local community. This route even made PO Haryanto one of the favorite buses of Pekalongan residents. After almost 19 years of contributing to building the company, Rian Mahendra was removed from the management ranks on December 28, 2022,^[6] then founded his own bus company called PT Mahendra Transport Indonesia.^[7] In addition to operating buses, PO Haryanto also developed supporting businesses in the form of the Menara Kudus restaurant in Gringsing, Batang and Gebang, Cirebon,^[8] as well as a gas station on Jalan Raya Pantura Jenarsari, Kendal, as part of its business diversification.^[9]

As of 2022, PO Haryanto operates 300 buses and employs 2,000 employees.^[10] PO Haryanto is diligently rejuvenating and expanding its fleet to meet operational needs on various routes, both intercity bus and tourist bus services, with a maximum of 5 to 6 years of operation.^[11] In addition, this PO also buys many used buses with low mileage to help other PO entrepreneurs who are collapsing.^[12] PO Haryanto actively releases new buses with various combinations of chassis and bodywork, demonstrating a flexible strategy in selecting components according to needs. For example, at the latest launch of the bus with a front engine chassis Mercedes-Benz OF 1623 assembled at the Piala Mas bodywork company, the bus looks tough with a black, white, and blue paint pattern while still maintaining its identity.^[13]

In addition, PO Haryanto has also expanded its fleet spectrum with medium bus based on the Mercedes-Benz OF 917 chassis, a front engine chassis intended for medium bus needs. The five units released from the Adi Putro bodywork use the Jetbus3+ MD body with varied color liveries, while maintaining the visual identity of PO Haryanto. The choice of the OF 917 chassis shows that in addition to focusing on the executive class segment, PO Haryanto also pays attention to the growing medium market segment, with a relatively efficient chassis choice but still carrying the Mercedes-Benz name as its basis. ^[14] In addition, from Adi Putro, this PO also released the Jetbus3+ MHD body with the OH 1626 chassis in October 2024^[15] and Jetbus5 Dream Coach for its sleeper bus service in August 2024.^[16]

PO Haryanto is known for its use of diverse and vibrant bus body color schemes, as well as highlighting Kudus' tourism potential. Menara Kudus Mosque has become an icon of Haryanto buses, affixed to the side of the bus body.^[17] Rian Mahendra as Operational Director (at that time) said that in running his business, Haryanto utilizes the philosophy of "celestial science", meaning "religious values ​​Islam are used as a reference in doing business (bus)". To realize its corporate mission, the calligraphy salawat صلى الله على محمد ṣalāllāhu ʿalā Muḥammad is affixed to the entire Haryanto bus fleet.^[18]

Some of the fleet (especially the fleet produced 2018 and above) is also equipped with images of wayang kulit characters, usually depicting Werkudara or Rama and Sinta. The shadow puppet character was initiated by Rian Mahendra, who at that time served as the head of PO Haryanto, during a visit to the Yogyakarta-based tourism bus company, Bimo Transport.^[19] In fact, after Mahendra was removed from the management of PO Haryanto and ran a new bus company called PT Mahendra Transport Indonesia, the wayang character was also affixed or painted on Mahendra's buses.^[20]

In addition to its distinctive fleet, Haryanto also has distinctive service characteristics. Haryanto is one of the Java-based POs that has a mandatory stop at a mosque or rest area to perform the obligatory prayer (exclusively for Muslim passengers and crew) during the trip. Haryanto Management also has a tradition of sending its Muslim employees on the Hajj/Umrah pilgrimage, which it maintains to this day. ^[21]

PO Haryanto also facilitates passengers traveling to and from Sumatra with its services. In collaboration with other bus operators such as NPM, one of the largest and oldest bus companies from West Sumatra and Sumber Alam from Purworejo, PO Haryanto opened a through ticket service where passengers from Solo/Muria Raya/Wonogiri/Madura who want to go to Sumatra will be transferred to the NPM bus to Lampung/Palembang/Jambi/Padang at the Sumber Alam Pondok Ungu garage, Bekasi, and vice versa.^[22][23]

Since its inception, PO Haryanto has focused its business activities on non-economy class intercity bus services, which are the backbone of the company's business. Its route network covers Java and Madura, and is operationally divided into eight divisions to facilitate route management. The "Muria Raya" Division is the center of PO Haryanto's intercity services, with service coverage to the Pati Residency area in Central Java, except for Grobogan Regency and Blora. From this base, PO Haryanto's route network has grown and strengthened its position as one of the major intercity bus operators on Java. ^[24][25][5]

Route expansion was then carried out to various other regions through the formation of new divisions. The Madura Division, which opened in 2009, became the first division outside Muria Raya and serves trips to Madura Island. Furthermore, the Solo Division, which began operating in 2012, serves routes to Surakarta City, Yogyakarta Special Region, and the Mataraman area in East Java. In addition, there is the Wonogiri Division for services to Wonogiri Regency, Purwodadi Division, Purwodadi Division serving Blora Regency and Grobogan Regency, Bojonegoro Division for Bojonegoro Regency, and Malang Division serving routes to Malang City. PO Haryanto also operates the Patas Division which focuses on medium-distance routes with a patas class fleet, such as the Yogyakarta–Pati and DKI Jakarta–Pekalongan routes.^[24][25][5]

Beyond intercity route services, PO Haryanto also develops non-route businesses through its Tourism Division. This division is headquartered in Tangerang and provides bus rentals for tourism and pilgrimage needs, covering a wide area, including Java, Sumatra, Bali, and Madura. PO Haryanto's fleet of tourist buses is widely used for various purposes, from family trips, corporate and agency activities, religious tourism, to study trips. Through this service, PO Haryanto not only relies on regular intercity transportation but also expands its revenue streams from the tourism transportation sector.^[25]