The Flavor of Transjakarta Bus

Just like most of people living in Jakarta today, my morning starts by walking to nearest Transjakarta bus’ shelter. While I’m waiting for the next bus my mind wandering. So many things happen inside those big shiny busses every minute every second. Some are funny, often annoying, rarely inspiring or even stinks.

Funny stuff many times related for first timers. Visitor from outside Jakarta whom just arrived at train station and use Transjakarta bus to get to their relatives. I’ve seen them holding each other hands, so afraid being separated. Or they’re too shy to ask the uniformed officer how to get to their destination; they choose to ask other passenger instead. Whom often not know much either. Even though there are hand bar hanging from the ceiling, they refuse to use it and rather holding at each other. The problem is when the driver suddenly step on the brake, they will fall altogether.

Regulars who anxiously finding seat can make funny scene too. When she was not fast enough and all seats already taken, her eyes will roll over scanning the entire bus cabin searching for signs. What kind of signs? The one that gives her hints who will leave at the next shelter ;or finding another passenger whom likely voluntarily giving their seat, so she can slide herself getting near them. But when her calculations wrong, she get upset seeing someone else get to sit. Unfortunately the anger makes her didn’t realize that there were empty seats behind her. When somebody tries to be nice and calling her to sit, she can’t hear him. She’s wearing IPod's earpiece the entire time.

Inspiring moment happens rarely, at least from my personal experience. Letting your seat being taken for another man/woman are rarely seen nowadays. Even for pregnant woman. But when someone actually does that, makes me feel guilty. Why I can’t be that man/woman? Why am I so attached to my need to rest my foot all the way home? Officers at the bus’ door shows remarkable endurance standing the whole time of their shift. Often when the bus is fully packed they seemed difficult even to stand in cozy manner.Another inspiring moment is when a man/woman took a step offer help for first timers without being asked for and the information being given is legit. That’s why we need more of these days in Jakarta.

Transjakarta bus can also play as daily catwalk for those people with bold and unique sense of style. And I enjoy observing these people's outfit. Some of the examples described next.  Very sheer  yellow tunic (almost see through!); extremely big silver and rhinestone chandelier earrings; knee length leather brown boots and more. Hairdo and make up also fun to watch. One day I even noticed a wig or toupee ! One mature man wore it to work.

We arrive to my favorite subject, the annoying moments. So many things people do that annoyed someone else, well…, me actually. The top of annoying stuff of my list is: pusher guys. While we enter the bus, most people -even young man- push other people as hard as they could in order to make them self getting in the bus too. They don’t have any consideration pushing an elderly woman, mother with toddlers or pregnant woman. They keep push…push and push others, never care that they risk hurting someone physically.Someone may stumble and fall, then got brain hemorrhage and die. Pusher guys are serious trouble maker that should be punished.

My number twos are perverts. Man who tried taking advantage on rather chaotic situation every time the bus came. While we stand densely shoulder to shoulder on shelter or inside the bus, this pervert grabs women behind, breast etc. Once it happens to me, I elbowed him and step on his foot as hard as I can. If I had my big umbrella with me, I’d poke him with it. Women only busses can't solve this problem yet. Since the number of passenger always overload than the busses, women still getting in regular busses. We should create a Yell Out! campaign  and motivate people to yell anytime he/she saw a pervert in action. At least that should make the guilty person embarrassed then off the bus.

Number three on my list is people who cough recklessly. In dry season or in rainy days there were always people coughing. If he covers his mouth with handkerchief or -even better- a mask, I have no complained. But he didn’t, that means he spitting germs and bacteria all over the bus unconsciously. And the rest of us forced to inhale it.

The next annoying moment is when the bus coming late. The shelter is full with people waiting, and when it comes the driver didn’t park the bus on the shelter’s door right away. He park a few meters before instead, and chatting with other officer. And when it finally approaching, people who stand first in line refuse entering the bus. They want to wait for empty bus, while other people at the back can’t penetrate the crowd. You can imagine how angry the ones at the back.

Inside that dense bus, at noon when the sun shine extremely hot, cool air conditioner is crucial. Most of drivers understand this, but one or two aren’t. They didn’t realize people feeling hot and sweating inside the bus, then various unpleasant smell arouse.

At the transit shelter we can see fast walk race, sometime running race. Never knew who invented it, but people seemed all in hurry, especially at the commune bridge between shelters. They obsessed to be ahead on others. Despite their high heels or big heavy stuffs in their shoulder and hand, they walk so fast or even running down at the bridge.

We arrive at the stink stuff. It is literally stinks the way it smell. Beside unpleasant odor during hot day on full bus, too much air refresher perfume also stinks. The smell of synthetic orange in strong scent can knock an elephant out of a headache. And the smell of someone’s intestinal gas during crowd or empty bus, have the same effect. It stinks.

My bus is finally arriving; I’m on my way to the office now. Transjakarta bus, despite of various flavor of moments I experienced, it still is the best public transportation for me. Well, at least for now.

Note: Spending time exercising my english in popular writing while wait for  the bus. Please forgive the wrong grammar, I hope it still enjoyable.