Truck drivers complain of unloading queues at Kramat Jati Market due to rubbish piles
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Truck drivers at the Kramat Jati Main Market in East Jakarta are complaining about queues of up to five hours for unloading vegetables from trucks to traders’ stalls, caused by towering piles of rubbish around the market.
“I entered at 5 a.m. earlier, and by 10:00 a.m., it still wasn’t finished. Normally, it’s done in two hours, but now it can take up to five hours,” said one driver, Aden (27), at the Kramat Jati Main Market in East Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to him, the long queues are due to rubbish transportation activities using heavy equipment that occupies part of the road surface. This condition narrows vehicle access and causes congestion.
“The road has become narrower; there’s an excavator (beko), and also queues of rubbish trucks. So, those of us who want to unload have to wait, sometimes moving forward and backward,” Aden explained.
He even compared the length of the waiting time to the duration of a trip from Bandung to Jakarta, which is actually shorter.
“The journey from Bandung to Jakarta is quicker than waiting to unload here now, which takes more than five hours,” he said.
The longer the waiting time, the greater the costs incurred, including parking and fuel consumption.
Aden hopes that rubbish handling in the Kramat Jati Main Market area will be resolved soon so that distribution activities can return to normal and drivers are no longer disadvantaged by long queues.
“Hopefully, it gets sorted out quickly, so we can work smoothly again, without disruptions or obstacles, everything comfortable as before,” he said.
Meanwhile, one trader, Syaeful, complained about a turnover drop of up to 30 percent due to rubbish piles about six metres high at the Temporary Waste Collection Point (TPS) of the Kramat Jati Main Market.
“Due to the rubbish piles, there’s been a turnover decline of up to 30 percent. Because shoppers are reluctant to come to the back here, especially to my stall area. They’re also reluctant to park. Whereas if they park, they usually shop at the same time,” he said.
According to Syaeful, this decline is quite significant, especially during peak hours that are normally the main transaction times.
The dirty environment, pungent smell, and disrupted access make buyers reluctant to come, thus reducing traders’ turnover.
“I see my customers tending to avoid entering the inner market area, especially around the TPS location filled with rubbish; we’ve lost buyers,” Syaeful said.