Finding religion on the city's 'monsters'

I have never been into seeking heart-stopping adrenaline highs. I remember riding the roller coaster at Fantasy World once in high school, and emitting a scream as if I was being slaughtered, until my friends rolled on the floor in laughter.

Once off what I dubbed the "monster coaster", I swore I would never set foot on one of its ilk again.

It never crossed my mind that one day I would have to eat my words, and take terrifying rides that made my harrowing trip on the roller coaster seem like a piece of cake.

When I first got a steady job in Jakarta, I had to steel myself for the horror of riding the metropolis' own monsters: public transportation vehicles.

It was the Metromini 49 minibus, from Manggarai in South Jakarta to Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta, that gave me my daily dose of panic attacks. It was so bad that I, who hardly ever prayed, suddenly took to some serious contemplation of death and my accumulated sins during the 30-minute helter-skelter ride.

I tried to give the crazy drivers the benefit of the doubt, reasoning that life was indeed tough for them as they had to pass along heavily congested Jl. Pramuka, where an underpass was under construction.

Moreover, they also ended their route at Pulo Gadung bus station, the most chaotic bus station I have ever seen in Jakarta, and that is saying something.

I once caught a driver talking to himself while speeding along the route from Jl. Utan Kayu to Jl. Proklamasi. His mouth was twitching left and right and he was mumbling. That was one of the moments that I prayed hard -- very hard -- not only for my personal safety, but also for the mothers and fathers and the children who boarded the minibus with me that day.

Well, now I think about it, perhaps the driver was praying too.

I also once rode a minivan which the driver sped along Jl. Salemba Raya as I clung onto my makeshift seat of a wooden bench tucked into a space near the open door. Even as I held on for dear life, I realized that my tight grip would not be much help if the driver suddenly swerved and sent me flying out the door.

No safety belts, no crash helmets, nobody on call to help us out -- all bus passengers can do is some serious wishful thinking to try to stop us from meeting our maker.

So, when the city administration announced that the launching of the TransJakarta Busway was also the beginning of a revolution in improved public transportation in the city, I was really glad.

Promises, promises.

A month has passed since the Busway was launched, but I am not convinced. The administration has not shown any well-planned measures to ensure the Busway will be a long-lasting, worthwhile service, not just a brief dabbling in trying something new to deal with the transportation fiasco.

While the Busway is getting all the attention, there have been no efforts to improve services on the feeder buses.

As I am not a regular user of the Blok M - Kota route of the Busway, I, along with millions of other Jakarta residents, still must deal with the daily horror show of careening, speeding buses and minivans. At least, I am made of stronger stuff than in my teenage years -- and I do have some carefully chosen prayers to fortify me in my game of bus Russian roulette.

-- Evi Mariani