metrominis

In recently declaring for myself a new favorite means of transportation, I realized that I never really gave credit (where it is indeed due) to the previously reigning champion, the city bus.

Most foreigners keep their distance from the public buses, and when I lived in Yogya and was therefore mostly qualified to offer ‘advice’ to the people passing through my losmen I would frequently recommend some place with the rider: ‘Getting there is really easy, you just grab the number two bus…’ At this point I was usually interrupted, as they explained that they were pretty sure they did not want anything to do with the public bus system.

And, indeed, part of me can duly commiserate: taking the bus in Indonesia is loud, egalitarian, and seemingly never quite in control.

The buses that ply the streets in most of the larger cities (for instance, Yogyakarta and Jakarta has buses, whereas Ketapang or Malang do not) all seem to be, on average, about 15-20 years old. However, between aggressive driving (more on this later), a constant barrage from the elements, and terrible road conditions, it is pretty tough to put an age on these buses.

Ultimately, based on the amount of acrid, particulated smoke that pours out of their tailpipes (or the time that I singed my toes on the overheated floor of the bus), I think this seems a reasonable estimate, yet no matter.

The buses have two doors on the bus’s sidewalk side, one in the front and one in the extreme back. Both of the doors have either been removed or permanently tied back, perhaps because they would only get in the way or perhaps because they would be undoubtedly disassembled the first night in the yard. In many cases it seems as if third gear and above have been retired, perhaps out of a general necessity. Most buses, however, still sport the original fringed curtains.

Each bus is a two man team, a driver and what I like to think of as the jump man. The driver, as you might imagine, drives, basically as fast and aggressively (this applies to passing other buses that run the same route) as possible. The jump man, spends most of his time hanging out the back door shouting at people on the street and communicating with the driver (by bashing a coin or washer onto something metal), but his duties also extend to collecting fares (2,000 rupiah flat rate), getting off at most major intersections to go looking for old ladies, late comers, or the weak willed and hustle them onto the bus, and (my personal favorite) be responsible for throwing the 2x4 that comes with each bus under the rear wheel whenever the bus stops on any sort of slope (it seems that most of the buses in the fleet lack operational brakes). Anyhow, many of these duties leave him outside the bus when it starts up again (which is actually misleading since the bus rarely ever ceases motion: I have seen senior citizens, while disembarking, have to vault out and hit the ground running) forcing him to have to chase the bus before lunging back up to his post. It is the best thing about taking the bus; if things ever get boring you can just watch the jump man until its your turn to have to stick your landing.