Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Usual Traffic Jams

A full day of rain in this city can only mean terrible congestion on the roads during the evening peak hour. In this city, there is nothing welcoming or romantic about the rain. It is grey and downright depressing.

There is nothing pleasurable about sitting in the 15-seater bus inching along the roads. It's torturous for both driver and passengers. A normal 30-minute ride turned into a 2-hour lower-back-burning bad trip. (pun intended for those who know that feeling). Those fumes were overwhelming and induced a smog to hang low over the city.

The infamous traffic jams in Jakarta haven't changed in 10 years. And definitely worsened in the last 2.5 years. Humans are still packed like sardines in public buses. If that isn't enough, they're hanging perilously out of the doors now.

The city's gearing up for elections. I hope someone cares enough to look into the urban planning of the town centre at the least, instead of just shrugging it off as a way of life. For a people so outspoken, I hope they'll speak out against the threat to their health. I still can't accept that traffic jams in Jakarta have become the way of life and are often excuses for every single issue.

5 comments:

celcilia_tjioe said...

Ha! I got it now! And..
"I am the one who know tat feeling!" Haha.
And did u see all those posters (the election's candidates) hovering on the roadside? Hehe..

lovexiaolongbao said...

most pple install DVD players in the car so they can catch a movie and wait out the jam.

It'll take indonesia a long time to change. i am giving up and converting soon.

imp said...

celcilia: i didn't really see many posters around the area. some yes. but not a lot though.

lovexlb: oh dear. sitting in cars for so long make me nauseous. i can't watch dvd or read in cars. UGH. i can nap though. so i rather spend the time on something more productive than waiting it out! ooh. come come join us!

Jo said...

I have given up!

imp said...

jomel: heh.