'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