City buses offer risk and entertainment

City buses offer risk and entertainment

JAKARTA (JP): Most readers of The Jakarta Post might not take
a chance on using the city's public buses, and the reasons might
vary.

Everybody, including regular passengers, is well aware that
Jakarta's public buses are regarded as one of the worst public
transportation systems in the world.

Hazardous drivers, aging, neglected vehicles emitting black
clouds of exhaust, run-down interior, pickpockets and armed
robbers have become the well-known characteristics associated
with buses in the capital.

These distinctions are also the reasons why some Jakartans,
expatriates, tourists and ministers do not join the sweating
hordes of passengers.

The outside world and many Jakartans who do not use this mode
of transport will never know that these buses offer a variety of
entertainment on board.

Newspaper vendors, beggars, poets, street musicians, people
asking for donations for religious organizations and traders
offering a variety of items are some of the entertainers.

Regular bus commuters might have come across a beggar who acts
as if he is disabled and can not stand. This man, in his
twenties, usually boards buses with the help of other passengers.

Once inside the bus, he crawls on his hands and knees, passing
standing passengers in the aisle, begging for money: "Tolong bu,
tolong pak ..." (help me, ma'am, help me, sir).

After receiving some money, the man -- again with the help of
other passengers -- gets off the bus. Shortly after the bus pulls
away, passengers in the rear seats who still feel sorry for the
man's condition and stare after him out of the rear window, are
amazed at what they see.

Some passengers chuckle, while others' faces turn red. From a
distance, they see the "handicapped" man stand up and wave at
them with a broad smile.

One day, The Jakarta Post witnessed several angry passengers
kick this man off a bus at a station near the Istiqlal Grand
Mosque.

Then there is the bus singer. This chubby man begs on buses
with the help of his guitar. He seems like a normal singer in the
beginning as he sings local pop songs. But in the middle of the
song, he begins to make almost the entire audience of passengers,
except those who know his trick, grin when his voice fails to
reach the high notes of the tune.

As if he is a serious learner, he repeats the song from the
beginning at least three times even though he is still out of
tune. Finally he says amid the chuckles of passengers: "Well, you
can see that I've tried my best but my voice is still off-key.
Sorry about that. If you want to give me any money, please do.
But I'm not forcing you to do so since I can't complete even a
single song."

Most passengers, particularly the females, burst into
laughter. Some look released from the stressful routine.

The man then holds out a small plastic bag, which once was a
candy package, for people to drop their change in. Many times,
the bag is filled with Rp 100, Rp 500 and Rp 1,000 notes.

With a broad smile, the singer thanks the passengers for their
generosity and leaves the bus to jump onto another using the same
ploy to win over passengers.

This man still runs his business on city buses plying
different routes, including those to Jakarta's outskirts, such as
Bekasi, Tangerang and Depok.

During peak morning hours on weekdays, newspaper and food
vendors struggle along with the crowd offering merchandise in
their own style and language. Sometimes, they yell a few
outrageous words simply to attract the attention of commuters.

With several dailies displayed in his hands, one newspaper
vendor shouted, "Pos Kota, Kompas, Media Indonesia ... Today's
headlines, last night RSCM (Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital)
was on fire. All patients, including some women who were about to
give birth, fled in panic. At least three corpses managed to
safely escape the morgue of the burning hospital."

His words stunned some morning passengers. But others giggled
as they know that the newspaper seller was only joking.

"Bapak-bapak, ibu-ibu (ladies and gentlemen) ... Please kindly
smile before you start the day so you will all have good luck and
be able to buy my newspapers tomorrow," said another vendor
before he jumped off of a bus.

If you are lucky, your trip on the buses, usually air-
conditioned ones, will be complete with the entertainment of a
talented group of street singers.

Passengers on the air-conditioned Patas buses plying the
Tangerang-Blok M route are often entertained by the five-member
Apostolos band, which always performs at several cafes and
restaurants.

Unlike other regular street musicians, they perform four or
five Latin songs in fine costumes and with good music equipment.

"We're glad to entertain bus passengers. Besides getting a
free ride, we also get some money from generous passengers," Rico
Paris, the leader of the group, told the Post recently.

The city buses are home to many other entertainers, such as
poets and small traders. But some passengers, particularly those
wanting to take a nap during their trip, refer to them as
annoyances.

But this kind of entertainment would not be enjoyable if the
bus was fully loaded so that your face was pressed against the
window.

The atmosphere would be worse if the driver continued speeding
or zig-zagging through traffic, although the number of passengers
had reached three times its allowable limit.

Under such unfavorable conditions, your mind would focus on
your wallet or purse and all your concentration would be on the
moves made by the person behind you. And the passenger standing
nervously in front of you would be doing the same.

The only medley that might come to you at this time would be
your own heartbeat. (bsr)