Busway launch big attraction

Busway launch big attraction

Urip Hudiono and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Several minor flaws in the initial implementation of the
TransJakarta Busway did not deter enthusiastic Jakartans from
personally trying out the brand-new air-conditioned buses on
Thursday for a free ride along the 12.9-kilometer route from Blok
M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta.

Shouting and sweating when waiting in one of the 20 busway
shelters turned into smiling and giggling after people entered
one of the 56 orange-and-yellow buses, which whizzed by private
cars trapped in severe gridlock all along the corridor.

Rita, 37, a resident of Ciganjur in South Jakarta who arrived
with her two children, was among the people who were willing to
wait since 6 a.m., more than five hours before Governor Sutiyoso
officially launched the busway at 11:30 a.m., just to take a free
ride.

"We had to struggle just to get into the bus. The shelter was
filled beyond capacity with would-be passengers," she groaned.

Hundreds of people waited at almost all the shelters,
struggling to get the chance to try the busway. The Jakarta
administration is encouraging people to try the busway in the
two-week free-ride period.

Lucky, 23, an employee at a company on Jl. Jend. Sudirman,
asked her colleagues to join her on a try-out of the new bus
system during lunch time.

"It's like being in a presidential entourage. All the
motorists must stop to make way for us," she said, giggling.

To mark the launching of the busway, Sutiyoso cut a string of
jasmine flowers at the shelter across the Bung Karno Sports
Complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Noted singer/songwriter Titiek Puspa, actor/director Rano
Karno and famous dangdut singer Inul Daratista were seen trying
the busway in the same bus with the governor's entourage from
Senayan to Kota.

"This is what I call a real city bus. It's cool, comfortable
and fast. It's quite cheap compared to the regular air-
conditioned bus, right?" Inul said.

However, she made no comment when asked if she would leave her
car home and use the busway instead, hinting that she was quite a
busy person and had to commute daily to many places.

Aimed to improve public transportation in the notorious
Jakarta traffic, the busway is also aimed at enticing private
vehicle owners to leave their cars home and use the busway
instead.

"If the busway's comfort and safety equals that of private
cars, why not try it? The real challenge of the busway is to
convince private car users to get on board without implementing
the three-in-one traffic policy," said Yuniadi H. Hartono, PT
DaimlerChrysler Distribution Indonesia deputy director for
marketing planning and communication, whose office is on Jl. Imam
Bonjol, Central Jakarta.

The ramps to the bus shelters, for wheelchair users, are
apparently not enough.

Aswin, 45, who is confined to a wheelchair, complained that
his wheelchair could not pass through the narrow turnstile on his
way to the shelter. Fortunately, people helped lift him up over
the turnstile.

Sutiyoso said that his officers had surveyed all the
facilities before they started the construction.

"In the future, two shelters will be equipped with elevators.
They'll be at the Jakarta Police and the Sarinah shelters," he
said.

The launch of the busway was also marred by some minor flaws,
including a broken handrail on a bus with plate number B 7021 IS.
There was also the arrest of a suspected pickpocket by security
officers after he tried to steal a cellular phone from a
passenger.

There were some worrying issues observed as well, some that
could lead to accidents along the corridor. Several pedestrians
were seen crossing the busway lane while motorcyclists
intentionally used the lane to avoid the traffic jams.

At times, the bus drivers must make sudden stops in several
predictable intersections including the Pemuda Statue traffic
circle, the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and the Olimo
intersection.