Dryxanne’s Confessions

Yesterday i took busway going home. Busway isnt even a correct name itself, since the bus’ original name is Trans-Jakarta bus. Busway is the bus’ WAY. But then it has become so popular it’s become the name of the bus itself. So im gonna use it as well.

Anyway, i was on a whole day workshop. When i left the venue (was a hotel), i realized that it was quite near to the busway terminal. So i walked to the terminal (with the companion of a very kind hotel attendance, thanks Mas Donald!), i reached the terminal, bought the ticket and went inside the waiting room. The bus arrived not long after that, i jumped in, it left the terminal in short time. I was considering to stop halfway and continue with another regular bus when i remembered, i could actually just take the same bus, change to another line and stop very nearby my place, with just 1 ticket. So i stayed. And remain optimistic that I would be home soon.

That proved to be quite a wrong decision. It began with the bus didnt stop at the right stop for me to change to another line, it went straight to next stop, perhaps due to the crowded queue. I had to go back (by another bus on the other side, of course) and there, i was welcomed with a long, full, no-space 4 lines queue. Amazing…To leave the queue would be a problem as well, since the direction to the other way was only 1 line and moved too slow. While i was thinking what the hell i had had in my mind to think using busway would be more convenient way to go home, i saw a woman actually WALKING on the busway lane. I was worried she’d never make it to the end of the lane to cross the street, and of course it was silly, coz the bus, eventhough how bad the driver might be annoyed by her, wouldnt run over her just like that…

It took about 20-30 minutes to finally get into the bus. And since i didnt know the route, i was panicked a bit when i dont recognize the route as any getting closer to my destination. Luckily, i asked a girl beside me and she confirmed i didnt jump into wrong bus. Along the way, i saw some funny things too. Like the bus in front of the one im in, got engine problem and had to stop, so had ours. And after that, ours’ driver kept certain distance (maybe part of their regulations) and when ours eventually caught up with the one ahead, there were 3 MOTORCYCLES, right between ours and the one ahead. VERY FUNNY. To think that Indonesians are "SO DISCIPLINE" that they would actually have no doubts to use the busway lanes.

Perhaps they were on a rush? We never know. All i knew was i wanted to laugh as hard as i could (but i managed to keep myself only grinning…) to see the condition of Jakarta. I wonder when Jakarta will be like at least Kuala Lumpur with their MRT and LRT and at least more disciplined citizens. To be like Singapore or even Hongkong ( where i witnessed their very on time MRT and public transport that being late to office would probably solely because u’re too lazy to wake up early), would be very far from reality, yet.

I finally got home at almost 7.40 PM. Almost 2 hours from the time i left the hotel.

But, apart from all those, i did have an interesting experience. And despite of the bloody messy implementation of the busway, there’s credit given to the government of Jakarta city to dare to try. It will be all up to us, whether we would be able to make maximal use of the facilities given, or to waste it all away with our undisciplined behavior on the streets.

Oh, by the way, it is amazing that with the current situation of busway which can not be said to be perfectly implemented and running, the city authorities are building the monorail train. The construction of the train’s railways have caused jam everywhere, and im living witness to that, since the road i pass everyday is one of the train’s lines.

We’ll see, how Jakarta grows.