Every Jakartan has a travel tale

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.