River Ferry on Cisadane River Remains a Choice for Residents Amid Transportation Modernisation
BOGOR, KOMPAS.com - Transport that facilitates travel for every resident is always evolving in line with the currents of the times. From the use of animals like horses, which have been replaced by motorbikes and cars.
Modes of transport can also connect distances in a short time, such as using aeroplanes via air routes and ships via water routes.
In the city of Bogor, specifically in Cibalagung Village, there is a ferry that connects two different areas, namely Panaragan Ward and Pasir Jaya Ward.
Like a pavilion in the middle of the Cisadane River flow, the ferry is floored with five inner tubes and a plywood step; the body of the ferry is covered with white-painted plates, and the roof uses corrugated iron so that passengers do not feel the direct heat of the sun.
The rope is used to operate the ferry by pulling it.
Residents can cross between Pasir Jaya Ward and Panaragan Ward from 06:00 to 17:00 WIB. This time can change if high tide occurs in the Cisadane River.
The ferry operator, Supandi Rahman (50), said that as the third generation, he continues the ferry pulling that was started by his grandfather Mad Karhi in the 1960s and his father Maman Suparman.
Supandi revealed that he wants to devote himself to continuing his parents’ service business by understanding the condition of his parents who are now in a vulnerable age.
“We just understand; our parents are old, should we just leave it here and enjoy watching TV comfortably? We’ve become aware; parents who are old should just rest,” Supandi said when met by Kompas.com in Cibalagung on Sunday (29/3/2026).
If the water flow becomes high tide, Maman will instruct Supandi to stop offering the ferry service.
“Our parents still have a sense of responsibility about this; they still contribute, still on standby whether the water is high or low, still on standby because my parents’ income comes from here,” he said.
Initially, the ferry was made from neatly arranged bamboo to transport sand and ferry residents who wanted to go to the fields.
“For sprinkling, for carrying babies, for transporting people, sand. In the past, for rice fields; made from bamboo, over time it was going to be made into housing, so it was improved, renovated into this form by my grandfather and my parents,” said Supandi.
He continued that it has been replaced four times because it was swept away and needs renovation of the crossing tool to make it safer.
Now, the ferry is focused on ferrying residents who want a more practical way to the Bogor City Square rather than going around using city transport (angkot) at a cost of Rp 2,000 per passenger.
Epeng, his familiar nickname, added that although the service fee is set, it does not rule out the possibility of passengers paying whatever they have.
“It’s just Rp 2,000 for one person, but if that’s all they have, we accept it; the important thing is to go ahead, not focused on Rp 2,000; ‘I only have a thousand’, well, just cross them,” he said.
“Usually, the passengers are domestic helpers, schoolchildren from SMPN 7, SMAN 9, and SMAN 1. So from Cibalagung Village, mixed from housing or from the village area,” he continued.
However, Epeng added, the number of ferry service users is declining because they are starting to switch to using online motorbike taxi (ojol) services that can take passengers to their destination.