Kalideres to Pulogadung a long and winding route

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta

"Gadung, Slipi. Gadung, Slipi." The P64 Himpurna conductor called to potential passengers gathered around Kalideres bus terminal in West Jakarta on a Saturday morning. The bus would head toward Pulogadung terminal in East Jakarta, via Slipi in Central Jakarta.

The grayish-blue bus regularly serves the direct route between Kalideres and Pulogadung. The fare is reasonably cheap at Rp 1,500 (16 U.S. cents), while to board air-conditioned Mayasari Bhakti buses, also bound for Pulogadung, costs Rp 3,500.

From Jl. Daan Mogot, the bus crawled along at some 30 kilometers per hour (kph). Only a dozen people had boarded the 55-seater bus, but the conductor was hopeful of more passengers before Slipi.

Each time the bus arrived at an intersection it would slow to a halt. At Cengkareng and Pesing, bottlenecks were caused by the construction of a nearby overpass.

It is possible that the new busway corridor, that will be divided into two sections: from Kalideres to the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, and from Monas to Pulogadung, will only worsen traffic congestion.

The new busway will not follow the same route as existing services, yet some 200 buses are to be decommissioned because of it.

Several street singers boarded the bus, along with passengers, as it neared Grogol overpass.

A 10-year-old boy belted out a tune, accompanied by the jingling of three flattened-out bottle caps nailed to a piece of wood. Not long afterward, a woman juggling her baby and a rudimentary karaoke system, weaved her way through the aisle, and those passengers who had boarded too late for seats .

Vendors peddled their wares, from snacks and drinks to nail- cutters and screwdrivers.

After Grogol, the conductor began to call "Gadung, Dirman, Salemba, Pramuka", informing passengers the bus would soon pass Semanggi cloverleaf, Jl. Jend. Sudirman, the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle, Jl. Diponegoro and Jl. Salemba in Central Jakarta. It would then continue along Jl. Pramuka and Jl. Pemuda in East Jakarta, before finishing up at Pulogadung.

From Semanggi, the bus began picking up speed in a race to collect passengers, as its route now overlapped with other regular buses also heading to Pulogadung.

Like an old cart horse, the bus struggled to accomplish its task. Thick, black fumes spewed from its exhaust pipe, as it tried to keep up with the busway from Semanggi to HI traffic circle.

On Jl. Pemuda, the bus entered the special lane for buses to the left of the fast lane. Many passengers got off on Jl. Salemba and now everyone had seats. Occasionally, a passenger would disembark or board from the lane divider.

The bus finally made a U-turn about 200 meters from Pulogadung terminal, to the disappointment of several passengers, including an elderly woman with heavy bags.

"So, this bus doesn't enter the terminal? But I need to board a connecting bus there," she told both the driver and the conductor, half scolding them.

"No, Ibu, but it's only a short walk from here," the conductor replied. "Here, let me help you with your bags."

The bus took two hours to complete its some 30-kilometer journey. At peak-hour the journey can take even longer.

Completing its U-turn, the bus waited at a nearby intersection for passengers for the journey back to Kalideres.

At Setiabudi, construction workers, who had just finished work and were heading back to Tangerang, boarded en masse.

Aisle-seat passengers had no choice but to put up with the close proximity of standing passengers.

The conductor, meanwhile, managed to make his way from the front of the bus to the rear to collect fares.

"Slipi, Kalideres. Slipi, Kalideres." he shouted loudly when he finally reached the rear door.