Living by Public Transport

Most of us spend our lives travelling, to and fro, in private cars. Such vehicles have been embedded in part of our lifestyle that it is difficult to think about living without one. Most of us in Indonesia have our own cars, some citing that the public transport is not safe, or it is much more comfortable for us to go anywhere we want on a snap. Such is my reactions to anyone who challenges this view of personal freedom. But I don’t see any reason to be logically basing all these arguments, because public transport can and should be an integral part of our lives.

First of all, we should look at the underlying reasons for wanting a personal car. While much differs, I could see a few different reasons, with each applying to a specific culture (in this case, Indo and US). Fear of taking public transport due to security is prevalent in Indo especially in Jakarta. I personally have heard stories of my cousin having been threatened at knife point for money. For safety reasons, we should not use our mobile phones while riding Angkot (angkutan kota) or you will have to part with your beloved phone. At night, situations can be worse, with gangs ambushing some innocent people due to mistaken identity.

Another would be the time constraint that one needs to go from one place to another. Assuming public transports as inefficient, as in many parts of the world, you would waste a lot of time waiting in the bus stands or train stations just to get to your destination. Freedom is also one of them. Going to wherever you want whenever you want seems to give a lot of Americans that feeling, which we as Indonesian students in America inherited, or at least been heavily exposed to.

Finally, there is the comfortability factor. Being public transportion, obviously every vehicle is designed to carry as much people as possible. Some may cringe on the fact that they are sharing a seat with a “tramp sitting next to you and vomiting on you” (quote taken directly from Top Gear Season 10 Episode 1). While there is usually no vomit involved, there are homeless people riding on the bus. After all, it is public transportation.

Overall, these reasons reflect our view of being in public, and ultimately can point out what is our worldview. But, I am not going to cover that section (leave it to Peter or Aldo to create one). Instead, I am going to focus on examples in hopes of debunking the notion that public transportation is undesirable.

The first brilliant example is of course Singapore. People who have studied there or just holidaying there will notice one commonality: lots of buses. Buses run generally on time, and the MRT system is not bad either. Not to say Japan of course, with its punctuality to the minute, Singapore’s transportation system has been above par on many levels. The amount of routes and schedules prompted the printing of a small book much like a phrase book that details the route all the buses travel, the approximate time the bus will reach that particular point, and even the fare (not that it matters much now) from one place to another. As a city smaller than New York, it is pockmarked with bus and MRT stations. However, unlike the subway system in New York, it is much easier to navigate in the jumbles of routes and roads and whatnot.

The second example is Europe. Particularly Switzerland. Again, as Top Gear said in Season 5 Episode 8, the car had met its match in the Swiss public transport. It is unbelievably punctual. Very reliable, and at the same time clean. A tourist will not have to worry about the language barrier as well because the system is in a myriad of languages. An even though Swiss itself is smacked in the middle of the Alps, there is no shortage of tunnels for trains, railway tracks, and bridges for trains. All in all, it is a haven for public transportation.

Why then, have these two different examples worked? Do they not have to contend with all of the issues above? Yes, they do. But instead of relegating public transport to a lower position, they have made a conducive environment so that the use of public transportations is encouraged. Both Singapore and Switzerland have tough vehicle laws that involve tax on purchasing vehicles, road tax, fuel tax, and other taxes that Americans cannot even comprehend. While this may border on infringement of liberty, the government gives them something else in return: efficient, relatively cheap, easy to ride, and clean public transportation. Therefore, there are no reasons as to why anyone would want a car anymore.

The necessary infrastructures are not available in Indonesia and America to contend with this issue. This is a government effort that is needed to spearhead the movement to build and provide efficient and cheap public transportation system. In Austin, we have the UT shuttle. But of course, that is theoretically only for UT students. But, more crucially, the people do not have the culture necessary to embrace public transportations in their daily lives. What is at stake now is your own money. Do you want to pay more for fuel prices, service your car, and pay for insurance? Or you can just take the bus and pay a small fee to get there.

In my opinion, the public transportation still has a lot of ways to go. This inefficiency shown in the waiting time is again due to consumer demands. So unless there is a sufficient demand for the transportation services, they are not going to upgrade their buses, extend routes, and much less increase the frequency of the services. How do we create that demand? You can write and speak about them like I have just done. Or you can get on the bus, just as I always do.

By: Jeffrey Tanudji