Transport in Jakarta

Getting around Jakarta is problematic; there are a huge number of options, but none of them entirely satisfactory. The only option that the locals don’t use is walking: you’ll see people waiting for transport for a journey that would take maybe five minutes to walk. I was pretty scornful of this at first, I’ve always been an advocate of setting out on foot (with some occasionally foolish results), and especially where the local transport is so baffling. However, after about three months in Jakarta, I’m beginning to concede that the locals may know a little bit more about living in the tropics than I do. Simply put, I’m tired of getting sunburnt and dehydrated after the short walk to the shops. Also, midday is not the time to go, as anyone brought up outside northern Europe will tell you.  

Angkots are minibuses that have had the seats stripped out, and benches running lengthways installed in their place. You flag them down, force your way in (they can get very crowded) and then contort you body to be able to see out of the window, so you can tell the driver when to stop. Sometimes they will be too crowded to get on, but no matter - there will be another one along in thirty seconds. There are an uncountable number of angkot routes running throughout Jakarta, I only use the one running from my house to the nearest mall. I’ve also tried to use the angkot running from the mall back to my house, but I’ve got lost every time. Instead I now use an ojek to get home.

An ojek is some bloke with a motorbike, and zero, one or if you’re lucky, two helmets. You find your man, negotiate a price and you’re off. They can be quite liberating if there is a lot of traffic and a reasonably sensible driver; they can be horrendous if you have an empty road for them to accelerate into, and some young gun who thinks his nickname is Maverick. All ojek journeys used to terrify me, but now I’m developing a sense of invulnerability. I don’t think this is an improvement.

Next transport choice is a bajaj. This is some sort of covered three wheeled motorbike that will sit three people at a push. Other than novelty value I’m not really sure what purpose they serve. They are not really any cheaper than a taxi, and are certainly more cramped and less comfortable, and are probably slower as well.

I have recently used the Trans Jakarta Busway, a relatively new solution to the cities transport problems. There are several interconnected lines, much like an underground system. It is cheap and fairly efficient; it has a dedicated bus lane that in theory shouldn’t get hogged by other traffic. Unfortunately knowing when to get off requires telepathy: the stops are not announced, and are written in tiny letters, so you may notice them if all the planets are in alignment etc. etc. That said, Jakartans being the friendly people they are, someone will have asked you where you are going within a few minutes, and will be going to some lengths to ensure that you get off at the right stop.

Despite all these tempting transport options, most of the time I just take a taxi. If you are going to a well known area or landmark then they are fine. If you are going home, or somewhere even a tiny amount off the beaten track they can be a nightmare – they simply do not know where things are. When you are driving around in circles and stopping every three minutes to ask for directions on your way somewhere in daylight, it can seem like an amusing piece of local colour. When you’re new to Jakarta, tired, drunk and on your way home after a night out, such antics take on a more sinister tone. I’ve not had any problems though, other than an inflated fare.