Humanizing Jakarta

Humanizing Jakarta

From Republika

In mid-December I took a city bus from Blok M to Kuningan. When we reached the Kanindo Plaza bus shelter on Jl. Gatot Subroto, our driver got out of the bus and relieved himself on the bumper. Such a scene is common in Jakarta.

But I cannot blame the drivers, who in the daily hustle and bustle of transporting urban travelers are neither given the time nor place to take care of private business. They often do not even have the chance to use the toilets at the terminals because they have to start immediately on their next trips.

On Jl. Rasuna Said I got off the bus at the Bank Nusa shelter as my destination was the Papan Sejahtera building across the street. Crossing the street there is very difficult because the speeding motor vehicles give pedestrians no chance to reach the other side.

I would like to appeal to Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja to make the capital more humane. The following projects would undoubtedly help:

1. Build public toilets near bus shelters.

2. Build pedestrian bridges every 200 meters over Jl. Rasuna Said and other streets with high-speed traffic.

It was once reported that the governor must have the approval of the interior minister for any project that costs more than Rp 5 billion. I think that the cost of the above proposals would still be within the governor's authority.

MOHAMMAD NUR ALIM

Jakarta