Last week I had an early morning meeting in Central Jakarta. Knowing that it was going to be one hell of a drive getting there from my house, I decided to leave my car at home and took public transportation instead. Here’s how it went 🙂
Leg 1: GOJEK – Home to Jurang Mangu Train Station
Ever since this first leg, I realised that it was a good decision to leave my car at home. My house is actually not that far from the train station, but I forget how ugly traffic can be on a working day morning. Even with Gojek, it took me 20 minutes to get to the train station. Can’t imagine if I took my car instead! Now I understand when a lot of Jakartans say that Gojek is a life saver.
Leg 2: Commuter Line – Jurang Mangu to Sawah Besar Train Station
The last time I took commuter line (train, for those of you who are not familiar with Jakarta’s public transportation) was back in 2014. That time taking commuter line was a real challenge. There were not that many trains, only 1 every 20 minutes or so. They often got late which made it worse, so you can imagine how crowded the train was when they finally arrived. It was like hunger games!
But it’s different now. The train schedule is more frequent so I did not have to wait long to get inside one. Although it was still crowded (mind you, it was during rush hour on a Wednesday), I could get a decent personal space and take pictures during my ride! Hahaha tourist much?
One thing to note is that it’s actually quite a hassle to navigate between stations, so if you have time constraints this might not be the best option. Take my case for example. First I took Maja-Tanah Abang line from Jurang Mangu to Tanah Abang. Then I changed to Depok – Jatinegara line from Tanah Abang to Manggarai. Finally, I took Depok – Jakarta Kota line from Manggarai to Sawah Besar. Phew! Glad I spared enough time so I still could get to my destination on time.
Leg 3: On Foot – Sawah Besar Train Station to Jalan Pecenongan
After I arrived, I opened Google Maps to see how far I was to the hotel where my meeting was held. Turned out I was not far at all, so I decided to walk. Walking in that area was quite challenging because there were no decent sidewalks and no clear signs/directions.
There were times I got confused on where to cross the road because there was no zebra cross in sight. Lucky me the traffic was not as bad so I managed to cross the road and eventually reached my destination safely!
Leg 4: Commuter Line – Sawah Besar Train Station to Jakarta Kota Train Station
After my meeting was finished, I walked back to Sawah Besar Train Station. From there, I took another commuter line ride to Jakarta Kota Train Station. The ride was more comfortable this time because it was not rush hour anymore so there were fewer people.
With a tourist mindset, I decided to enjoy my journey and stopped every once in a while to take pictures and people watched.
Leg 5: Busway – Jakarta Kota Busway Station to Blok M Busway Station
I had another meeting at Melawai area after lunch time so I decided to take the Busway / TransJakarta to get there. It was a straight ride, and took me about 45 minutes to get to the final destination… I think this was my most comfortable leg because yours truly here slept almost all the way! Hahahaha. It was a good nap though.
Leg 6: Gojek – Blok M to Cilandak Town Square
After I finished my second meeting, it’s time to go home. I had to stop by at a supermarket to buy some groceries so I decided to stop by at Cilandak Town Square. Again Gojek proved to be a lifesaver, it took me only 15 minutes from Blok M to Cilandak Town Square at around 5PM!
Leg 7: Taxi – Cilandak Town Square to Home
I was feeling a bit tired (which was normal.. right?) so I decided to go home more comfortably by using Taxi. I normally take Uber/Go-car if I didn’t bring my car but this time I opt for good ol’ Taxi instead. Lucky I got a nice driver and he let me enjoy the ride by not talking too much hahahaha…
And that’s it! I reached home at around 7 PM which meant that I spent around 13 hours mostly on the road. I felt sooo tired afterwards but also somewhat happy because I got to see and experience how Jakarta’s public transportation has improved over the years. I’m excited to see even more improvements when our MRT line is open! I have to admit though, I don’t think I can manage to do this every day so salute to all commuters out there 🙂
Christa Bercerita 
Emang bener pepatah tak resmi yg bilang kalo tinggal di jakarta itu tua-tua di jalan ya Christa 😁😁 baca pengalaman kamu ini jadi kangen naik busway 😆😆😆
Hahaha iya bener banget tuh tua di jalan.. salut aku sama para komuter, soalnya aku skrg cuma bergerak di seputaran selatan aja jadi gak terlalu parah biasanya 😀
Suka tasnya *salah fokus* hahaha asik banget keliatannya Ta, aku mana berani nih kayak gini huhuhu
Dulu juga ga berani Mar, skarang udah jauh lebih nyaman dan aman! Walau ya kalo jalan masi ada aja yang nanya “neng kemana neng” huhuhu itu gak bisa ilang ya kayaknya
Wow, you got 7 legs by public transportation. Reading this reminds me about my trip three years ago.
I took taxi, mikrolet, ojek, and finally a train. Actually, my destination was Bogor. Early in the morning I left from Tangerang and arrived in Bogor at 6.30 p.m.
Hahaha yes it was a crazy day! I’m sure your trip was memorable too 🙂
Does gojek count as public transport, though? Hahaha 😛
Anyway, one reason I like public transport is that actually I have te option to spend my time for more productive stuffs! If I drive my own car, for instance, then obviously I must use my time to focus on driving. But then again, indeed in Indonesia the problem is the generally still less options for public transport. I really am looking forward for the Jakarta MRT to be operational, though!
Ah, true. My brother doesn’t drive, he prefers to take the bus everyday which is pretty convenient for him because it’s a single ride from the main street of our house to where he works. It’s a long commute still, but he said at least he can sleep all the way!
Me too, I have high hopes for the MRT 🙂
seru juga ya.. yang penting sekarang di jakarta udah aman kan ya kalo naik public transport gitu chris? jadi gak was2 dicopet atau dirampok ya…
Relatif aman kok Man, beda rasanya sama naik angkutan jaman dulu kayaknya deg2an banget kan, kalo skrg aku aja bebas sambil keluar2in hp, dll. Tapi ya tetep harus waspada sih 😀
Tetap harus waspada ko, tempo hari temanku kehilangan HP di dalam busway. HPnya ditaruh dalam tas, posisi tasnya di depan dada, dan temanku sudah pakai jaket juga. Beberapa ojek online yang saya temui saranin tas masuk dalam jaket karena mereka punya pengalaman tas penumpang dijambret juga.
dulu gw tinggal di kalimalang kerja di gatot subroto, untung ada omprengan gitu Chi, seringnya orang2 kantor yang kerja di Jkt juga, jadi mobilnya asik2 buat ngorok, pulangnya bisa manfaatin taxi voucher asal ngelembur dikit hahaha
Oh iyaa dulu banyak tuh omprengan kayak gitu.. temenku ada yg ketemu jodoh dari omprengan gitu Fe hahahaha… skarang kayaknya udah ngga ada kali ya? banyakan gojek 😛
Wihhh hari yang panjang ya Chris bersama transportasi umum. Tua di jalan haha (dulu sering ngomong gini kalau kejebak macet). Baca Citos jadi kangen kangen mantan kantor deket Citos.
Iya bangetttt, tua di jalan benerrr 😛 nanti kalau ke Jakarta main ke Citos Den, sambil kopdar kali yaaah hihihihi
Kalau dengerin berita jakarta tambah macet parah, tapi pemerintah baru rajin bikin mode transportasi umum aneka macem semoga segera jadi biar ngak makin parah..
iya nih moga2 kalau udah ada MRT dan jalan2 layang udah jadi semua, macetnya Jakarta bisa berkurang dikit :)))
Gojek is always a life saver. Wow. What a hectic day! You made it, girl.
I don’t know what I’d do without gojek!! lol
Waah kebayang capeknya begitu nyampe rumah Chris. Salut ya sama yang tiap hari ke kantor pake public transport, bener2 deh perjuangan & resilience nya patut diacungi jempol
Duh, pas sampe rumah bener2 tepar Dix, malemnya tidur pasang koyo hahaha… bener2 salut sih aku, jadi berasa. Moga2 sih kedepannya pas udah MRT makin membaik 🙂 tapi aku udah gak ngerasain hahaha.. bakal jadi turis aja 😛
I can imagine how tiring it must be to do this every day however it’s good to know that there are options out there for people who need to use public transportations. I remember taking a metro mini from Blok M to Citos and it was one terrifying of a ride lol!
I know, in some ways there are still a lot to improve, the routes should be more streamlined so people don’t have to change lines that much. But… I have to admit that it’s wayyyy much better than it used to be! 😀
Paling enak kalo kereta sepi 😀
Iya banget! 😀
Aku belakangan itu lebih sering naik Gojek atau ojek online, mulai gak sanggup naik busway sama kereta api, nunggunya lama dan ruamenya itu kadang yang bikin gak nyaman. Dan berhubung ojek juga bisa lebih cepat, yah pilihannya jatuh ke Ojek hihi
Ojek online emang life-saver banget yaaa Inly! 😀
di leg 3 : trotoarnya lagi diperbaiki kayaknya. pak gub lagi banyak program bikin trotoar
Searah ternyata kita, bedanya gw masih bbrp stasiun lagi..haha.. 😀