The Transjakarta Ride

It was Nad’s bday a while ago and yesterday Be was in from Bogor, so we decided to have lunch together. Nad’s treat. Since Nad couldn’t be out long from her lunch break we decided to meet around her workplace in Pecenongan. I asked around and found out I could take the busway from Kelapa Gading and get off at Pecenongan. All I had to do was walk one block from that stop and I’ll be happily sitting in Happy Day Juanda, which was where we decided to meet. I made my calculations: busway roundtrip Rp 7.000,-, one angkot ride home Rp 2.000,-, a Transjakarta experience, priceless. It couldn’t be beat. It was a much better alternative than taking a car. Would save me from the stress and frustration of driving in Jakarta, or would it?

So I was on my way. My lovely mom was so kind as to drop me off at the Kelapa Gading bus stop. I was among the first to wait for the coming bus. I waited, and waited, and waited. And… I waited some more. Finally the bus came. As a pool of people had gathered during that waiting time, only half of us were allowed in. I was not included. I had to wait for the next bus.

Protest #1: haven’t these people heard about the FIFO concept? First in, first out? Wasn’t I first at that bus stop? Shouldn’t I have been first to get on that bus? I guess they don’t have that kind of conscience around here. The concept obviously is TOFO, tough one, first out. I forgot you have to have a fisting mentality around here.

Luckily, it didn’t take long for the next bus to arrive. The bus was full, so I stood. In front of me was an elderly woman. To her right were her two granddaughters, one chubby, the other a bit malnourished. They shared a seat together and they seemed to fit just fine in the chair. Half-way into the trip, the woman left of the grandmother got off. According to the unwritten code of bus riders, it was obvious I was the “rightful owner” of that seat. How terribly surprised I was, when that elderly woman unapologetically filled the freshly emptied seat and asked her skinny granddaughter to sit in her seat. I wanted to scream my head off. If you looked carefully then, you might’ve seen steam coming out of my ears.

Protest #2: What was this woman thinking? Doesn’t she know how tiring it is to be standing in a speeding bus full of people? Hey, maybe she’s just thrifty, like me. Maybe she wanted to get her money’s worth. She bought three tickets, she’s entitled to three seats. Her small granddaughter only took up half of the seat though. What values is she teaching these children? Shouldn’t she be teaching them about sharing, and understanding limits? Instead she’s teaching them greed, getting your fair share without looking at the suffering others around you (me among others). I felt like giving that old woman a lecture, but who was I to say these things. Plus, I didn’t want to make a scene. So I think, have people begun to lose their hearts in this rough city?

In conclusion, I stood my whole bus ride to Happy Day.

On the way home, Be dropped me off at the Monas busway stop. There was a line there, so it minimized that TOFO concept people are so eager to practice nowadays. The bus was full, so I stood again. It was pretty hot. Looking up, I saw the filter clogged with dust. No wonder you couldn’t feel the aircon. Anyway this time I was in a better mood, maybe because I was full.

I must note however that standing on a Transjakarta bus is really straining. The handles are not in a fixed position so it makes it difficult for you to grasp firmly to it. Even if you hold tight, you’re always jerked around in the direction of the bus. In order to stand straight, you really have to work your hand hard. I realized that when this morning my entire right arm became sore. Felt like I’d been lifting weights the night before.

Anyway, on that ride I gave up my seat twice. And people were so overwhelmingly surprised, and of course pleased, that anyone would actually do that for another. I guess Jakarta isn’t as friendly as it used to be.

Well… its not the end to my story yet. Let’s just say a little (or a series of?) unfortunate event(s) happened to me on that way home. To cut the story short I missed my stop and ended up getting off all the way at Pulo Gadung. Definitely a big mistake. I’d only been there once before, and that could have also been considered as an accidental visit. It was in high school, when I overslept on the 52 bus and found myself waking up in a near empty bus at was already pulling into the terminal.

So yes, yesterday I panicked a bit but I still tried to look cool. I knew there was a Mikrolet (M30A to be exact) that would pass somewhere near my home, but I couldn’t find that number amidst the hustle and bustle of the terminal. Ojek was nowhere to be seen either. I scanned the area looking for a familiar number. I saw the M37 mikrolet and got on although I wasn’t sure of its route. I asked the woman sitting next to me about the route, and she didn’t know more than I did. So I just stayed in my seat and kept my fingers. Worst case scenario, I’ll end up in Senen, since on the window it said Pulo Gadung-Senen. Thank God that mikrolet passed thru Kelapa Gading. I got off near the mall and safely took another angkot home. The end. P.S. So I guess I still have a bit of street smarts left in me.