Riding city buses in awful<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Have you ever tried to travel in the evening on
\none of Jakarta's unaccountable public vehicles? They're simply
\nmurder on wheels. Looking as if they could fall apart any moment,
\nthey tear through the streets without any qualm for the bumps and
\npotholes they meet as they go. They care least for the people
\nclutching onto anything they can get hold of in the backseat.<\/p>\n
The situation worsens when you must share the bus with a bunch
\nof noisy school brats who delight in jamming bus doors, making it
\nextremely difficult to disembark from the vehicle. You try to
\naddress them politely with \"permisi\" (excuse me), but on the
\ncity's minibuses such an appeal is, of course, ignored.
\nMeanwhile, the bus driver impatiently inches forward, ready to
\nstep on the accelerator at any time.<\/p>\n
You repeatedly shout, \"Tunggu, Tunggu!\" (wait) while the
\nconductor, sometimes taking pity on you, yells \"An old lady is
\ngetting off, wait goddamn it.\" Then he roughly propels you
\nthrough the barrage of door jammers, still shouting, \"Make way.
\nStep away from the door. Make way for an old lady.\" He then
\npushes you off the vehicle with a \"Here you go.\"<\/p>\n
The conductor's words still ring in my ears. \"Make way for an
\nold lady.\" The expression makes me reel.<\/p>\n
Must bus drivers resort to insulting middle aged persons to
\nmake a bus stop? Or is it just bus crew jargon?<\/p>\n
I have long since discovered that conductors use the
\nexpression for any passenger, young or old, who hesitantly gets
\noff a slow moving bus.<\/p>\n
I recently took a bus home from the Blok M bus terminal, which
\nis usually a very short trip. We had just entered the main road
\nwhen we hit one of the capital's famous traffic jams. Cars stood
\nfive lines deep, stuck. In neighboring cars and cabs, passengers
\nwere craning their necks trying to see the cause of obstruction.
\nA European man practically stood on the hood of his car. And I
\nthought, \"Bet he wouldn't do that in his country.\" Which just
\ngoes to show that habits rub-off on anyone staying here long
\nenough.<\/p>\n
Cars started to blast their horns. Our bus driver, fed up with
\nthe situation, ambled off in an unknown direction. Not long
\nafterwards we saw him hurrying back to the bus.<\/p>\n
\"What's wrong?\" people asked.<\/p>\n
\"School kids further up the road are throwing stones at their
\nopponents who are sitting in a bus. I wish I could turn around,
\nbut I don't see how I can do it,\" he replied<\/p>\n
Prospects weren't good. Some passengers left the vehicle,
\nobviously preferring to take another route. I had no option but
\nto pass those rebellious students.<\/p>\n
After what seemed an eternity, we started to inch forward.
\nFifty yards ahead was an open space littered with stones. A few
\nteenage boys stood in the space shouting obscenities at no one in
\nparticular.<\/p>\n
\"Kids of the other party have long disappeared in the bus
\nbefore us,\" our driver volunteered. \"We are lucky that we have no
\nschool kids in our bus just now. Or we would have to go through
\nin a hail of stones,\" he added.<\/p>\n
On another evening I came home from Pasar Rebo, on the
\noutskirts of East Jakarta. As usual, I took a minibus. The trip
\nalong the new toll road went smoothly and I was looking forward
\nto getting home early. Alas, it was not to be. Near Ragunan, the
\ndriver pulled over and announced that he was not going to Blok M
\nafter all. He had something to do in Cililitan, he explained.<\/p>\n
Left in a strange neighborhood, I had no inkling of what bus
\nto take to the terminal in Blok M. I flagged down an orange bus
\nand stepped on.<\/p>\n
\"Where are you headed?\" the driver asked while pulling away
\nfrom the curb.<\/p>\n
\"I have to go to Blok M.\"<\/p>\n
\"Well,\" he replied, \"we'll get there eventually. We pass Jl.
\nPasar Minggu.\"<\/p>\n
\"That's all right,\" I said, not feeling like looking for other
\ntransportation at this point.<\/p>\n
The trip to Blok M lasted well over three hours. I arrived
\nhome about 9 p.m., hot and exhausted.<\/p>\n
Does anyone know how to keep a sunny disposition in such
\nconditions?<\/p>\n
-- La Chica<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/riding-city-buses-in-awful-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }