Travelers save fuel by hitching a ride
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Mochtar, 35, slows down his Toyota Kijang van at the entrance of the Jakarta-Tangerang toll road in Tomang, West Jakarta. Around a dozen people standing by the roadside suddenly swarm his car and squeeze into the vehicle.
In less than one minute, nine people have already taken their seats in the car and Mochtar steps on the accelerator and drives off to Tangerang, Banten.
"I do not make money by offering lifts to these people. I am already happy if I can pay the toll fee and buy gasoline from their payment," said Mochtar, an employee of a private company in Roxy area, West Jakarta, last Tuesday evening.
Each passenger pays Rp 2,000 (US$21 cents) for the trip from the Tomang junction in West Jakarta to the Kebon Nanas exit in Tangerang, Banten.
Mochtar lives at the Melati Mas housing complex in Tangerang regency.
Mochtar said he only offered lifts to people whose houses were located in the same direction as his.
Giving a lift to people traveling in the same direction has become a common practice among private car owners here. Such practices can also be seen in several toll road entrances like in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta and in Cawang, East Jakarta and some areas in Bekasi, West Java and Cibubur, East Jakarta.
For car owners, the practice allows them to receive extra money to pay toll road fees and buy gasoline, while for the passengers, it allows them to leave their cars behind amid traffic jams, which are a regular feature in Jakarta.
Whatever their reasons, the practice is helping the government's drive to save energy amid the fuel shortage.
Some travelers from the outskirts of Jakarta have also opted to take the train to Jakarta and home again.
According to Marbun, a parking attendant at the Serpong railway station in Tangerang, around 300 motorcycles and 50 cars are parked at the station's parking lot every day. The figure does not include cars parked in private parking lots.
"There could be more vehicles parked here if we had a larger parking lot," said Marbun, adding that more and more people were engaging in the parking service business due to the increasing number of vehicles.
Benny, a resident of Ciputat district, said he preferred to park his car at Sudimara station to avoid the traffic.
"Taking a commuter train is more comfortable than driving because we are free from traffic congestion," said Benny, while on board the economy class train serving the Serpong-Tanah Abang route.
Anggraini, 30, who boarding Mochtar's vehicle, said the presence of private cars offering lifts was very helpful as she could get off near her house in the Alam Sutra housing complex in Tangerang.
"There are no public buses going directly from Jakarta to my house after 8 p.m. Therefore, the presence of such private cars is very helpful," she said, adding that she took a public bus to work in the morning.
Anggraini, an employee of a private company on Jl. S. Parman, West Jakarta, said she was driven by her husband to the bus stop every morning to go to her office every morning.
"Actually, my husband wanted to drive me to my office in the morning and pick me up in the evening, but I declined. I think it is not efficient because he too must go to his own office in Karawaci," said Anggraini.