Better Transportation System for Indonesia?

 It's my first English essay... An assignment for Bridging Program Class which I got 78 for it... Lame, I know... Well, enjoy!

How to Turn Them to Public Transportation

It is about our traffic condition. We can look outside, on the street, even Jogjakarta is not a commercial or industrial city, the traffic now becomes a silly phenomenon. People prefer to use their motor-cycle to buy a pack of cigarette in a kiosk two hundred meters away from their home than just do it on their foot. Hundreds of motor-cycles purchased every year for teenagers who just have their age 16 for their ride to the school. We know that it is not the condition we want for our future. We always dream about swift traffic without any jam in every path of our roads. In this essay, I want to share my ideas how to turn people to use the public transportation rather than purchasing new vehicles for their private transportation.

And what are the things that make Indonesians love to use their own vehicles until even to go to a kiosk two hundred meters away they should use their motor-cycle? Or why people in Jakarta prefer to use their cars and very defensive to keep traveling with their cars no matter the traffic jam holds them for hours on the street.

The first one is the comfortable feelings and the privacy when they are in their cars. They do not have to stand up when the buses is out of seat, do not have to smell other people’s sweat, do not have to get crowded by people who is not in their class and do not have to worry about being picked pocket. Lots of Indonesians, rich people and teenagers to be more specific, they felt that to use buses as their transportation to their schools or workplaces is embarrassing.

Second is about the service provided by the public transportation itself. If I take a case on Trans-Jakarta, the buses are pretty often arrived lately on the bus stop. On some bus stops, the interval of the buses coming to the bus stops is about 30 minutes or more. And when the bus finally arrived, the persons who have waiting for 30 minutes could get their self running out for a space in the bus. Another fact, there were some people who have tried Trans-Jakarta for their first time took new learn that made them not to use the Trans-Jakarta again. It was because the driver drives the bus without taking care about the passengers’ safety and the driver’s assistant behaves pretty rude and impolite to the passengers.

Third is about the efficiency that uncovered by using public transportation. It means that the purposes of cheap and efficient transportation that brought by public transportation does not achieved. It is because the current public transportation is still away from some areas and sometimes it takes more money to use the public transportation than using private transportation. If I take my own case as an example, I live at Jalan Kaliurang KM 12 and to reach the University, I have to change the bus once. For each time I use the service, I have to pay about two thousand rupiahs and to be in the University I will spent four thousand to five thousand rupiahs. While with that amount of money I can use it for purchase fuel that I can use for two days.

Four is that the fuel price in Indonesia is too cheap and a lot of motor-cycle Companies give people easy and light credit to purchase new motor-cycle. Everyone could purchase fuel and motor-cycle; and it creates great pollutant for the Indonesian environment. No matter you are a rich person or poor person, you could purchase your own ride to go anywhere you want to go. The different is that the richer people have much more vehicles than the poor. Let say, a car for a family member is not rare to find in Jogjakarta. And these things support bad lifestyle of Indonesian people. A lifestyle that exalting on prestige and wasting energy.

If we line up two cases from four reasons why people do not want to use the public transportation, I can say that the current public transportation is failed to fulfill the needs of the society. Then why do I want to change people’s habits from use their private transportation to public transportation, while the public transportation itself does not cover the needs of the society?

There are some reasons that should forced people to use the public transportation or to be on their foot for 15 – 20 minutes. From the efficiency that the industries and commerce need in the distribution to the global warming cases. People should realize how much they took part on obstructing some fails of national Industry and bad parts of heating up the earth. People say they realized that we have to do this and that but what they will do does not imply their own words, and they will keep blaming the government. Then these are what we need to do.

First is to increase the fuel price for private transportation purposes as high as possible. Let say that today’s world oil price is US $ 125 per barrel. Then the government should imply this price plus 10% of this price for the private transportation fuel. And the price for fuel in Indonesia will be US $ 137.5 per barrel. But, this price is only applied for the private transportation; and the government should implying different price for public transportation vehicles, distribution cars and sailors to avoid the society suffers from increasing price on goods. Sure the number of private transportation on the road will decrease so high. And to avoid from subsidized-fuel-smuggling, the government should build or change the function of some SPBU (Gas Station) in Indonesia become special SPBU which will serves people who use fuel for industry and makes reports for each vehicle or everyone who purchase in the special SPBU as a control system.
Second is to increase tax for using vehicles which need BBM (refined fuel oil) for their energy. And what I mean by increasing the tax is not just 10% or 30%, but 200%, this will makes car as an exclusive vehicle that owned by the rich.

Then if we are talking about Indonesian transportation, we can not separate it from motor-cycle. Motor-cycle in Indonesia has become a phenomenon. Indonesia is a country where its demand for motor-cycle is very high and attracts a lot of company to build their Factories in Indonesia. And why were Indonesians become so addicted to motor-cycle, while people in another country pull motor-cycle aside because of its safety level. It is because they are cheap, and the companies who produce it offered so many crediting programs to purchase a new motor-cycle. Then everyone in Indonesia will have a motor-cycle and if you have a time to check how many accidents happened in Indonesian roads that caused by motor-cycle riders you will see at least three digits number in Java and Sumatra provinces per months. And motor-cycle riders is the greatest donator for traffic infraction in Indonesia.

By knowing some facts about motor-cycle in Indonesia above, I have to say that the government should do something about it before we lost the youngsters on the road. One thing that is crucial is to delete light credit program which offered by those companies who produce motor-cycle in Indonesia. Next is to raise the annual tax or to add the frequency for motor-cycle owner to pay tax. An example, once in every two months. To ban motor-cycle using in the major roads in Indonesia is a good program to be applied.

Next thing to do is to provide a good public transportation system which will covers every area with reachable price. And the government should purchase some new buses to provide the society for safety and comfortable feelings. Where do they will get the money? They will get the funds from the profit they got from selling the fuel for those who use the private transportation. And this is what I call subsidy for the poor from the rich.

And one other thing to do is that the government should realized that there are lots of player in public transportation business that purchase the fuel as like they purchase it as private transportation. An example, we can see it from ojek services. That’s why the government should provide them a work field. Because since the government provide public transportation that easy to reach for every people, means that the ojek services is no more necessary and people who work in this field will lose their job. And for a short-term run, the government could convert them to be people who work in the public transportation.

Since this program series feels like a “reculturation” for people to go back to public transportation and get use with their own foots. The government should once again look after the facility for the walkers, such as the sidewalk and the shady trees along the road. And with cooperation with the Police Department, we could try what the policemen do in another country. They hang around on the sidewalk and socialism with the people and make sure everything is doing fine. I believe if they could do this, the bad image that is given to the policemen will disappears by time.

If we think when the program has been done and obeyed by the society, it is lovely to picture it. Imagine when the road is only passed 100 cars every minute and the sidewalk now become wider and lots of walkers on it. While on the jalur lambat we can see lots of bike riders and the separation between it and the road is planted with trees. Then when we walked to the next crossroad we can see a policeman showing direction to a bike rider. Free and smooth way for the industrial and commercial purposes, light polluted air to breaths, warm temperature with shady sidewalk along the road. Aren’t those what we want? So, let’s start use the public transportation that already provided by the government for us. In the next months Jogjakarta will be dominated with Trans-Jogja and use it as our commitment to help Indonesian Economy and our Earth too.

References:
cs_1912. “Busway vs Kendaraan Pribadi”. November 6th 2007. June 7th 2008
D, Maria. “Kamu memilih yang mana?”. Yahoo! Answers. May 31st 2008. June 7th 2008
Wapedia-Wiki. June 7th 2008.
Soemardjan, Rani. “Hasil Survey Biaya Hidup”. Chaerani. March 20th 2008. May 28th 2008.
Nugraha, Yadi. “Transportation : Traffic Warns+Pollution+Energy Consumption [?”.Yudi Nugraha. January 22nd 2008. June 7th 2008.
Manalu, Ecko. “Analisisku Mengenai Kenaikan BBM di 2008”. WikiMu.02-01-2008. June 7th 2008.
puskompublik_dephub. “TINGGINYA HARGA BBM DI AS TAK KURANGI MINAT UNTUK PERJALANAN JAUH”. Departemen Perhubungan Republik Indonesia. June 8th 2008. June 7th 2008.
“Subsidi BBM Rp103,98 Triliun Berpotensi Salah Sasaran”. ANTARA. May 12th 2008. May 28th 2008.
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Hahahaha……. what a lame………
Hum……. hopes the government will read this one…. If the vehicle companies read it… I don’t care! hooho….

Originally posted here, June 2008