Overcrowded buses

Overcrowded buses

From Berita Buana

A top police official called on city bus drivers recently to
stop overcrowding city buses so that they could close the bus
doors in line with the new regulation.

This sounds right but if there is a ruling to regulate the
maximum number of passengers in a bus why do traffic policemen
let overcrowded buses pass in front of their eyes in bus
terminals to begin with?

Isn't this silent consent? A feeling shared by us all,
passengers, drivers and the public alike?

As a regular commuter I am always grateful of the bus drivers'
willingness to give me a ride to an overcrowded bus and to the
traffic police for not stopping the bus and asking the passengers
to get off.

And why do the authorities allow trains to carry passengers
exceeding their maximum capacities? There are trains with
passengers overflowing onto their rooftops.

In simple economic terms this is known as supply not meeting
demand. Since public transport is cheap, me and the common people
happily opt to use this means of transportation though it often
means traveling in overcrowded wagons while standing up.

It would be wonderful if the government or those conglomerates
who have concerns over social issues would provide more
transportation means so that those buses and trains can close
their doors, keeping with the new traffic regulation.

Chew G.H.

Jakarta