User Friendly...NOT

I once read busway created to be user friendly especially for people with disability. Yeah, right...

The truth is, none of public transportation in Jakarta are user friendly for :

1. people with disability
2. Pregnant women
3. Elderly

When I was fighting my way into the bus, there was an elderly in front of me... Also struggling to get in along with dozen ruthless people (sad to say, including me)... Then she suddenly shrieked, saying that she has lost her flip flop. Can you imagine how panic she was? She was about to get on the bus, however there was no way she left her flip flop and going home with only one on her foot. So, eventually she gave in otherwise she could fall down and got stomped by others. That's the difficulty to get on the bus. If the passengers wants to get off, the driver's assistant will definitely help by pushing them out of the bus. So, when we are trying to get on the bus they treated us like cattle hurriedly told to get in. But when we are trying to get off, they treated us like trash to be throw away as soon as possible.

Nowadays, I think the situation will get even harder as the traffic jam seems hitting the street at any time and any place. Usually, traffic jam only happened at certain time. Like when people rushing to go the office and school in the morning. And when the time the are trying to go home as soon as possible.

For people with disability, to use the busway they also have to remember which bus stop that allowing them to move without difficulty. Only few bus stops for busway that are not too big and they are most definitely will find it hard to move around the transit terminal. And when they are inside the crowded busway, it will be even harder to do anything. And I even noticed that when the buses all over crowded, people could not care less about elderlies, pregnant women, let alone people with disability.

Maybe another years to come...to have user friendly public transportation. That if Jakarta does not sinking under the sea first as many people predicted.