'Govt has failed to serve public in transportation'

'Govt has failed to serve public in transportation'

The government policy to shift national holidays this year is
generally welcomed by holidaymakers. However, many also complain
about the poor condition of the transportation systems. They also
said that the government had failed to anticipate the increase of
passengers during the long weekend. They shared their experiences
with The Jakarta Post:

Bagas, 29, is a kindergarten teacher at a private school in
Salemba, Central Jakarta. He lives in Cempaka Putih, Central
Jakarta with his siblings:

In my opinion, the government always fails to anticipate the
influx of holiday makers following the government's policy to
shift national holidays.

The government almost always fails to anticipate the flow of
people for the annual religious festivities, let alone the long
weekends.

The infrastructure and, mainly, the transportation systems are
far from sufficient to tackle the problem.

During the last four consecutive holidays, I decided not to
return to my hometown of Cilacap (in Central Java) because of the
energy required.

My father could not book an executive train ticket even a week
before departure. He stood in the queue at 7 in the morning, but
at 8 ticket were already 'sold out'. It's absolutely ridiculous!

I'm sick of the fraudulent practices of the state-owned
railway company. In fact, hundreds of seats remained despite the
questionable 'sold-out ticket' information.

Generally speaking, I think the government has failed to serve
the public in terms of transportation.

Taking an executive train is no longer a comfy trip now but
cozy travel with annoying irregularities.

I don't mind paying a bit more for a ticket as long as it is
comfortable and safe.

The situation will remain unchanged over the next decade.
Unless there is a change of culture, the system will always be
hampered by corruption.

Above all, I would rather spend my holidays here in the city
rather than going home in executive trains full of illegal
passengers.

Yuliana, 32, is a secretary with a private foundation in
Central Jakarta. She lives in her boarding house in Salemba,
Central Jakarta:

I guess the departures and influx of passengers during the
moved holidays this year are more or less the same as those for
the annual festivities.

And government planning remains poor despite the past years of
experiences.

In my opinion the transportation system has not at all
improved. I found that riding executive trains is no guarantee of
safety and comfort.

Bribery, late departures, schedule postponements and crime are
common.

Actually, the consumers are in a difficult situation in which
they have been forced to choose the best of the worst in terms of
means of transportation.

Many will say that going home during the long holiday will
only waste their time and energy. But that's the risk.

I myself in the last consecutive holidays did not go home
because I didn't want to be troubled by the traffic jams and
other poor systems.

Joko, 45, is a taxi driver. He lives in Slipi Jaya, West
Jakarta with his wife and four children:

Government efforts to improve transportation infrastructure in
anticipation of the shift of the national holidays has not met
expectations.

If the government was competent enough to manage the
transportation, there would be less traffic congestion during the
holiday.

I'm not happy to take a passenger to areas with traffic jams
in the outer city.

I don't know whether or not the government is capable of
coping with the upcoming holidays this year. Otherwise, it
remains distressing to the public. Leo Wahyudi S