2008-04-16 - 3:13 p.m.
As a big city girl, I'm so used to crazy traffic. Please, don't get me wrong. That doesn't really mean that I will ever begin to like it, especially when it seems to get crazier today. Luckily, I'm not driving. I don't even own a driving's liscence yet, but that's just another story (with another reason too). Someday I will get to drive my own car, but not here --- and definitely not right now. Mondays might be the worst with the traffic, but --- the truth is --- everyday is often almost just the same. Even passengers on the public transportations aren't exactly stress-free from the traffic. There are times standing on the crawling bus when all I ever want to do is just sit home with a book, a stereo on, and a glass of something really cold.
For example, when I got out to work at six-seven am --- it would only take at least an hour. But now, I'm considered lucky enough to have shown up after an hour and a half --- or even two! These days, you need to get up at five to beat the traffic, but it turns out that most people think the same way. Imagine that.
Crazy traffic has caused more negative effects. (No wonder and no surprise.) It steals people's decent sleeping hours, because they have to wake up super early in order not to be late for work and lose their job. But unfortunately, they also have to sleep very late because they're losing valuable time on the road and have no choice but to bring the workload home. The same thing happens to school students, which causes more stress and lack of concentration during classes. It clearly disturbs people's productivity in school and at work.
Unfortunately, many people just make it worse. If you ever use the sidewalks for pedestrians in Jakarta, beware of...motorcycles passing by there! No, I am so not joking here. Most of the motorcyclists do that because they want to beat the traffic, despite the fact that it's totally against the rule. Worst of all, the traffic police officers hardly do a thing about it. In fact, a local TV news has covered the issue on the spot and asked every motorcyclist caught on tape. Most of them refused to be interviewed or even show their faces behind their helmets, so they just rode off. But some were not too ashamed to open up and admit: "Want to know why we're doing this everyday? It's because of the traffic!"
The government of Jakarta has provided several busway lanes for their Trans-Jakarta buses to reduce the heavy traffic. They've even constantly encouraged the citizens to use public transportations more than private vehicles. The government has also regulated the "three-in-one" hours on the main roads. It is to require at least three people inside one (private) vehicle, from morning (seven to ten am) to after office hours (4:30 to seven pm).
However, the government also allows people to sell and buy more private vehicles like motorcycles and cars, while the road capacity remains the same. What an irony.
Despite all of the stated facts above, there's a not-so-surprising saying in Jakarta: "Crazy traffic gives a safe excuse for lazy people to be late or even avoid attendances." For example, you can wake up late, slack around at home, and then tell your boss you're still on your way there. (But please, be sure to know that your boss is not the kind to catch up with local traffic reports on the news if you really want to do this.) I remember my friend Patrick's old radio show in a local station. One night, a male caller told him that his girlfriend was an understanding person whenever he showed up late for their dates. The same old safe excuse he used was: "Traffic."
"Really?" Patrick had sounded really surprised. "My girlfriend would be very angry if I did that."
So, is crazy traffic a constant curse, or a blessing in disguise? Whatever it is to each of us, it has become part of the big city life we can't avoid easily --- or even faced lightly.
The Author
