'Govt should expand the busway'

The busway, stretching from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta, celebrated its first anniversary on Jan. 15. The Jakarta Post talked to residents on whether they use the busway.

Wahyudi, 29, a resident of Kebayoran Lama Utara subdistrict in South Jakarta, works for a private company on Jl. Gajah Mada, West Jakarta.

I rely on the busway for daily transportation to the office. I take a busway bus from Blok M, which is much faster compared to a regular bus. I suggest the city administration prioritize busway passengers.

The absence of feeder services is the only weakness of the busway. It takes nearly one hour from my house to Blok M, much longer than the trip from Blok M to my office, which is only 30 minutes.

It would be helpful to those of us who live far from the busway corridor if there were feeder services.

I think the city administration should develop more busway corridors. It would make it so much easier for commuters like me to get to work.

Manaf, 32, a resident of Cipulir subdistrict, South Jakarta, works in a shop in Blok M, also in South Jakarta.

Although there is no busway corridor between my home and my workplace, I do take the busway on holidays, usually with my children.

I hope the city administration develops more busway corridors, including one between my home and office. People must prefer taking the busway because it is the fastest mode of transportation in the city.

But, I also understand that motorists don't like the busway because its lanes take up space on the main roads. As a consequence, traffic jams are worse during rush hour.

We should push the administration to develop more busway corridors to serve more people in the city.