Being a commuter
I’d like to thank 2022 for making me become a commuter.
Well, it’s really s*cks!
Spending much time on the road, moreover, if it’s stuck in traffic (voila, it happens every day), is somewhat I prefer to not choose to. But since I become an employee in this great city, *inhale *exhale……… I have to accept it.
In 2022, I’ve been working for 2 different companies located at Sudirman and Kuningan (South Jakarta).
The office distance and the way to be there become my number one concern.
Cause you know, I’m a homebody and still lack knowledge about many routes and places, even though I’ve been living in this city for almost the entirety of my life.
And I, until this time, still get jealous of my colleagues who had the privilege to work from home. Or from everywhere, from café, from Bali, from the zoo maybe, or whatever you named it.
The only work concept I know is work from the office. Or if I’m designated to work from another place, it must be from the branch office which is TECHNICALLY office as well.
Hence, I have to commute every single day willy-nilly.
Huh, so heartbreaking.
The Explorer
Feb 2022, I rented a boarding house at Tanjung Duren (West Jakarta), apart from my family who is living in Bali. I chose that place because it is cheap for the cost, easy to get groceries, and has public transportation availability.
I used Transjakarta as my daily mobility
It’s affordable and more efficient than the other modes of transportation in this place. I feel, as a first-timer, using this long-blue Mercedes Benz unit is quite challenging or even confusing. Like you have to know what corridor you want to go, where you should transit, and where you should stop at.
Here’s the route to get to my office,
Walk 1.1 km to S. Parman Podomoro City Stop (East Side) → Take Corridor 9 (Pinang Ranti - Pluit) → After 25 minutes, transit to Semanggi Stop → Take Corridor 13C (Tosari - Ciledug Puri Beta) → After 5 minutes, get in Karet Sudirman Stop as the last. My office is in front of it.
At glances, it’s nothing hard. But to eventually understand it,
I need 5-7 times to get strayed and force myself to ask the officer or strangers
Anyway, there’s a thing I forgot to tell you.
My main responsibility with the previous company is to review the business process for all unit businesses in the Jabodetabek region. It meant, I always need to figure out how to go to new places which is the designated branch office at that period.
Alam Sutera Branch (South Tangerang), so far, become my worst commuting experience. Not just because it’s too far, but I have to deal with the cost itself as well. Like,
If you want the easier & faster, the cost is higher. If the cost you have is limited, then the complex and tiring way is waiting for you
I took the second option at first, and here’s the route:
Walk 1.1 km to S. Parman Podomoro City Busway Stop (West Side) → Take Corridor 9A (PGC 2 — Pluit) → After 15 minutes, go out from Latumenten St. Grogol Stop → Walk 850 m to Grogol Station (KRL or electric rail train) → Take Duri Line in Platform 1 → Transit at Duri Station and then take Tanah Abang Line in Platform 2 → Transit at Tanah Abang Station, take Rangkas Bitung Line in Platform 7–8 → Stop at Rawa Buntu Station → Take local car Number B. 04 (Serpong — Cikokol)
It needs more or less 2 hours to arrive and 4 hours my total commuting time. It’s super-duper exhausting.
I had to go to the dawn and always fell asleep once I arrived home
I also had 5-days of fever because of it, and I decided to simplify the routes with the higher cost as the risk.
Fortunately, it’s just 14-days of working there. Thanks God.
Anyway, I’d like to give a credit to the heaven-sent app, Jak Lingko, which helps me to survive. This application provides the integration of MRT, KRL, and Transjakarta, so you’re not going to frustrate when you’re really blind about many routes like me.
The Hybrid
May 2022, my family moved to Cibubur (East Jakarta) because of my father’s work disposition (He’s in the army by the way. No no no, not a BTS fan, but a soldier). Related to that, I got the order from my queen majesty a.k.a mom to leave my 850 K-priced room and live together.
One thing that surprised me is my mom decided to send her motorcycle from Bali for me. Oh mom, why you’re so thoughtful, look mom, I’ve grown up and I’m no longer your spoiled baby, I mean I REALLY NEED THAT, MOM! THANKS!
But to be honest, I hate to ride in Jakarta because of its complicated road branches and the never-ending traffic jam. So, I used that motorcycle just to reach the train station and continue with KRL.
Here’s the route,
Ride for about 15–20 minutes to KRL Pondok Cina → Go to Platform 2 to get to the Jakarta Line → After 40 minutes, transit at Manggarai Station and move to Platform 7 or 8 to get to Kampung Bandan Line → Stop at Sudirman Station → Walk about 1.2 km to arrive at the office.
The most dreadful part of this is at Manggarai Station, specifically when there’s a route change in May 2022. I don’t want to talk more about it, but you can see from here.
Again, that route is just when I work at the head office.
At that moment, I tried to beat my fear and reluctance. So, when I was designated to work at Kelapa Gading Branch (North Jakarta), I used my motorcycle to be there with a little help from Google Maps, another life-saver app.
Believe me, that becomes the worst for the first-time experience.
I got fined at Pedati-Prumpung because I rode on the fast lane.
I don’t hate the rule, the rule is completely right.
But I hate when I got wrong for something I don’t know is wrong.
Fortunately, my vehicle number is DK (from Bali), so I can play some scenarios like pretending I’m just coming from Bali (with my ugly Balinese accent) and also having no money in my wallet because I’ve transferred all to my family.
Since that, I strictly do pay attention to all the rules. For instance, if the road is empty, others are pulling the gas, while the rest was hitting the horn and starting to push forward, but the light is still red, 10000% I’ll wait for it to be literally green then go.
The Cavalries
October 2022, I move to a new company in Kuningan (South Jakarta). I did quick research on how to get to the office.
Here’s the route:
Ride for about 15–20 minutes to Pondok Cina Station → Go to Platform 2 to get to Jakarta Line → After 35 minutes, stop at Tebet Station → Take one option from Transjakarta, a local car, or an online taxi and then stop in front of the office.
I kept doing this route until I realized this is not effective on both time and money.
So, I considered commuting to use a motorcycle fully.
I’ve mentioned that I hate Jakarta’s Road complexity. Yes, I mean, there are too many branches.
I don’t know when I should shift to the right or left side or when I should go up or down.
I know I can refer to the green-colored road signs, but at least you have to know the nearest place from it, so you have something to hold. But the problem is I DON’T KNOW!
I used to misread Google Maps when I faced those branches and made me have to turn back so distant. Now I know, so this case is closed.
The problem hasn’t stopped at that……
I still had the traffic jam to face.
In the morning, I face the TB Simatupang & Mampang area. At the night, I meet the Cicilitan & Kramat Jati area. Oh God, it’s so draining.
I hate the Cililitan & Kramat Jati area because they have 2 waves of traffic jam,
- Almost half of the road is filled by people who sell their goods (fish, vegetables, chicken, fruits, etc.)
- There’s a long bus queue to enter the gas station
I once stopped to grab some ice cream to relax and wait for a little bit of time, but then I know that way is nonsense. The traffic is still going on.
My strategy is to come early to the office 1. 5–2 hours before and buy some snacks to fight the traffic at the night.
If you think it is the end, it’s not, here’s the last.
I truly hate it, of course not only me, when the rain comes.
Long traffic jams, carbon dioxide buildup, and noisy surroundings, I HATE ALL OF THEM SO FREAKING MUCH!!
So if the rain is showing, as long as it’s not a heavy rain, I often decided to go and dance with the rain because I don’t want to get OLD and INSANE on the road.
Good news, I finally can leave my Google Maps (but not for the new places), and read the road signs to go, it’s such an advance of me. TAAA-DAAA.
Finale
I’m still not okay with commuting life, and I think it will always be like that. But that’s life.
Sometimes we can’t kill everything we dislike but we can always embrace it and live alongside them.
So, here’s what I’ve done to keep me sane in this commuting life:
KRL
- Reading book. I use Kindle because I prefer to not have physical books
- Watching funny films. I watched half of Turning Red in the morning and the rest when I went home
- Watching what's people watching. I feel when I watched Turning Red, a stranger was watching my screen (I can see his shadow). So, I did the same on the next occasion
Transjakarta
- Observing what people do. Many of them choose to sleep or daydream
- Taking pictures when I transit. Semanggi & Karet Sudirman Stop become my favorit spot
- Doing my daily chores. I used to calculate my expenses. It will take a lot of time because I need to track back what I’ve done. I often can’t remember and there must be a difference in the record. My bad
Personal Vehicle
- Eating snacks when traffic jam comes. I like to challenge myself to eat my 10 K-priced snacks until I arrived home. I need to be wiser to manage it
- Contemplating my life. Last time, I wondered what if I run a grilled catfish business
- Practicing my English-speaking skill. I’m too shy to practice with others, so I start it with myself first
Congratulations, I survived!
Deep down, I’m still wondering when I can have a non-commuting life, but my current plans are to be more creative to deal with this.
Let me know if you have some recommendations to fight this issue. Cheers!
