Every Jakartan has a travel tale

By Johannes Simbolon and Imran Rusli

Getting around in Greater Jakarta is a struggle. Every day commuters labor to catch buses or trains. Those who drive to work are not indisposed to problems as they, too, have to deal with the serious congestion. Long hours are wasted on the way to and from work or school. Parents miss the precious opportunity to be with their children and couples often drift apart because of the lack of time to communicate. The following story and several others on Page 3 disclose the agony and ecstasy of commuters, plus the New Delhi experience.

JAKARTA (JP): They live in Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi, and must venture into Jakarta everyday to earn a living or get an education.

Early every morning, a gaggle of smart dressed people pack into bus terminals, railway stations and queue at toll gates to get to Jakarta on time.

It is repeated in reverse every afternoon. The struggle for a seat slackens in the afternoon because the commuters are tired and getting home late doesn't usually incur a penalty.

According to the Bandung Institute of Technology, there were 1.2 million commuters in Jakarta and its three satellite cities in 1992. Some 850,000 of them were workers, including traders, the other 350,000 were students. Three years later, the number is estimated to have increased to over 1.5 million.

Meitini, an honorary teacher at the Taman Siswa junior high school in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, is one of millions of commuters. Living in the Pondok Timur Indah housing complex in Bantargebang, East Bekasi, she gets up at 3 a.m. to guarantee a seat on the bus and arrive at school on time.

"If I wake up at 4 a.m., it will be difficult to get a seat on the bus because the Bulak Kapal toll gate will be packed by people by 4.30 a.m. If I haven't got a bus by 5 a.m., I will be late for school because traffic will already be jammed," she said.

Another commuter, Sani, who works for a travel agency in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta, lives in Bogor and must also wake up early.

"I must get to the Bogor railway station at 4 a.m. otherwise I will be squeezed from all directions on the train, especially if I am trapped among men. They look to benefit from the situation, squeezing me from the front, sides and behind," she explained.

The commuters arrive home by 9 p.m. on the average. They can't go to sleep because household chores, including helping their kids study, await. A lack of sleep is common.

"I once fell asleep standing on the train. My head was on the shoulder of a man. The man turned out to be a 'crocodile'. I woke up at feeling his hand already underneath my blouse. I angrily slapped on his face. I have tried to resist sleep ever since," said Sani.

The mayhem caused by the commuters fear of missing their bus or train can sometimes add a few smiles to the early morning.

"Many people arrive at the railway station when the train is about to depart. They quickly get off the motorbikes and rush to the train, unaware that they are still wearing their helmet. They go along with the helmets to office that day," Sitorus, who lives in South Bekasi, said.

Commuters have become victims of what the city administration sees as a success in demographic management. In order to decrease the population in the city, the Jakarta administration began cooperating with West Java administration in the 1970s to develop dormitory suburbs outside the city. The term "Jabotabek" was then coined to refer to Greater Jakarta.

Population growth fell from four percent in the 1970s to 2.4 percent in the 1980s. Meanwhile the population growth in the buffer zones increased with Bogor recording a yearly increase of 4.1 percent, Tangerang 6.1 percent and Bekasi 6.3 percent in the same period.

"It's quite a success," said Tubagus M. Rais, Jakarta Deputy Governor for Economic and Development.

But it can also be considered a failure because transportation and infrastructure have not anticipated the growth on the outskirts. As a result, commuters crazily compete each morning for the far from comfortable transportation.

"Public transportation is clearly not enough. As you can see in Bekasi the buses are generally hesitant to pick up students in the morning. The buses are already packed with workers," said Sitorus.

Some realtors have tried to solve the problem by integrating residences and economic and cultural activities in one location. The Lippo Group, for example, is developing the concept with its Dukuh Lippo now under construction in Tangerang. The group intends to move its headquarters from Jakarta into the area.

It is too early to judge if the concept will work.

While the government and experts are at a loss for a solution, the public has tried to find their own solution. One remedy is what locals call omprengan, or private cars used for public transportation. Car owners offer lifts to other commuters for a fee. The owners drop the hitchers off on their way to the office.

It is now widely practiced in Tangerang and Bekasi. There is no set price, but in Bekasi it usually costs Rp 1,000 a ride, in Tangerang Rp 500.

"There is some kind of mutual symbiosis. The hitchers pay less than if they ride on public buses and the journey is more comfortable. The car owners can pay the toll fee with the money collected and get safely through the three-in-one areas in Jakarta," explained Sitorus, who works in Blok M and always hitches a ride.

Sitorus prefers hitching to riding in his car because driving, he said, tires him out.

As the practice became popular, many places in Tangerang, Bekasi and Jakarta became pick-up spots. The Jakarta pick-up spots are near Komdak, the Tomang toll gate and the Halim underpass, where many cars are spotted each afternoon waiting for hitchers.

Some drivers reportedly put notices on their windshields informing of their destination. Many unemployed youngsters have benefited by guiding hitchers to cars going their way. The driver usually pays the broker a Rp 500 commission.

"After paying the toll fee and broker tip, I still earn enough to pay for gasoline," said Wirahyat, a Tangerang resident, who often picks up hitchers in his Kijang pick-up truck.

"Many people have already identified my car. Thus when I arrive at the toll gate, many will shout 'Slipi, Slipi' and rush to my car," he said with a smile.