Transportation

Questions from Katy
1. What type of transportation do you use?
2. Is it safe to get around town?

ANSWER: Currently I use a taxi to get around town. Soon I will lease car but I will not drive here, it is not recommended since the traffic is so congested and sometimes seems reckless, so I will hire a driver to take me around. This does not necessarily apply to everyone, although there are several locals who use a driver, most rely on public transportation and believe me, there is plenty of it! Three million people commute into the city every work day and since Jakarta only has 4,660 miles of road, with 5 million plus vehicles traffic can be total gridlock (called macet total: mah-chet). The traffic jams are phenomenol, legendary even. It appears nothing short of chaos but surprisingly few accidents occur. The government has introduced what's called the 3 in 1 system which requires that if you are traveling on a main road there must be at least 3 people in the car, but this is not a problem since there are more passengers than drivers in Jakarta and if you find yourself short one person, there are people lined up on the road who will hop in for a fee and accompany you.

Unlike most cities in the U.S., Jakarta has more than one bus company. One of the main ones is called the Busway which runs down special lanes in the middle of the road. They stand high and you have to board them from special areas in the median. Most buses are crowded, cramped, hot with hard seats. There are risks involved in riding a bus such as being robbed, the pollution, and possibly being late to your destination caused by the traffic jams. In addition to the larger buses there are also the Metromini vans. I was shocked to see how many of these vans are in the city which I'm sure adds to the congestion. They are simple little cargo vans with the windows painted with the areas that they travel to and a guy hanging out the sliding door looking for passengers and collecting fares. These Metrominis of course are not owned by the city but by private owners and they have to pay fleet owners, taxes and certain people in the neighborhood for them to operate so of course this means that they will cram as many people as possible into them. It's also not uncommon to see these conductors hop off the van and go round up passengers even though those people aren't heading in that direction. There are no emission laws for vehicles so the pollution created by buses is just immoral, but the good side is that they are all cheap, average fare for a bus is 5,000 rupiah or 50 cents.

There are many taxis in Jakarta and in different forms. The typical one is a car with an air freshner and air conditioning that charges by the meter. There are also rickshaws, or becak (beh-chack) which are 3 wheeled bicycles and can usually carry 2 people (see photo). Formerly a common site all over Asia, the becak are mostly located in specific neighborhoods and not on main roads especially since the government decided that becaks were inhumane and death among drivers from expanded heart and lungs was high plus they didn't do much to enhance the modern face of Jakarta. The new version of the becak is called a bajaj (badge-eye) which is just a motorized version of the rickshaw (see photo), me and my husband call them tuk-tuks (at least that's what we think they call them in Thailand). These rickshaws have a roof so you can travel in them even when it rains and although the ride is bumpy, it's hot, cramped, and noisy, it's actually a fun way to get around. Bajaj are allowed on main roads as well as small neighborhoods. You have to negotiate the fare with the becak or bajaj driver before you leave, he can refuse to take you though most won't and the fare depends on how far you plan on going. The last of the smaller public taxis are called ojeks (see photo) or the motorbike taxi. Most of these are just people who own motorbikes and want to make a little extra money. I haven't tried one yet and doubt I ever will, they tend to swerve in and out of traffic and even though it's required by law to wear a helmet, it still seems very dangerous. Most of the time they are used by people to travel from the traffic jammed main roads to the smaller roads leading to housing compounds. We live in a housing compound now and there are a lot of ojeks by our house...very noisy with all of the motors running and the horns honking! The ojek drivers you also have to negotiate the fare depending on how far you're going and if there is a jam or not.

And now trains. No matter how modern Jakarta likes to portray to the rest of the world, it's definitely lacking in making things look pretty. Trains are no expception. There are several train lines, mostly commuter trains that travel to various parts of the city and outside of Jakarta. They don't seem to run on any type of schedule even though they are not affected by the traffic jams so it's wise not to promise to meet anyone at the end of your journey. Most trains are filthy, the doors don't shut (or can't be opened), the fans don't work, the carriages are overcrowded both inside and on top and you're unlikely to get a seat but for the price of 2,000 rupiah or 20 cents you can't complain too much unless you get pick-pocketed or someone steals the signal cable and about 25% of the passengers ride for free. The first time I saw a train, I thought maybe it was transporting something other than people and then I saw the passengers, I was shocked!

So, after covering all the modes of public transportation, I may have answered the question if it's safe to get around. I guess it all depends on how brave and adventureous you are. I feel safe in my taxi, maybe sometimes not necessarily walking around but do you blame me for wanting to hire a driver? I think I'll stick to that and riding an airplane.