Today
Jakarta
- 32 °C
Other Publications
Letter: Almost missing the flight
Thu, 10/09/2008 10:24 AM | Reader's Forum
Incredulous, to say the least. On the afternoon of Sept. 22 I headed to the airport from the office well ahead of time to catch a flight to Singapore. I was aware of the new traffic jam on the airport toll road due to the frantic road construction underway before the next flood. My plan was to enter the Slipi tollgate, and I expected a somewhat smooth drive through the expected bottleneck on the way to the airport in the afternoon hours.
Fortunately, the traffic flow within the toll was rather easy. I was hoping to enter the toll and make it to the airport.
Crossed the Slipi traffic signal with great relief and headed towards the tollgate only to see that the entry was blocked. Not seeing anyone to plead the case and gain entry into the toll we were forced to keep pressing forward in the slow lane.
The next tollgate entry is beyond the Taman Anggrek Mall (Angke). From Slipi, and in this traffic, the next toll entry looked so far away and impossible.
After spending some very anxious moments in the car we finally made it to the next tollgate. I was curious to know why the Slipi tollgate was closed for no apparent reason and I inquired about it with the duty attendant. I could not believe what I heard.
With a dry smile and a bit of astonishment he said, "It is closed because they don't have change to give."
I will never figure out that reason to close a tollgate. Jasa Marga's main and only job is to operate the tollway system and here they are.
Imagine that many are not able to make it to the airport on time because the Jasa Marga didn't have Rp. 4500 to give in change.
What if somebody among us had, as I did, the exact change of Rp. 5500? Or why not collect the tool from the next gate or at the exit gate?
We could even have forgone the change rather than missing the flight. What was the toll gate supervisor doing when they realized there was going to be shortage of change?
Couldn't they have organized some from the next toll gate or from their nearby office? Is that much foresight and planning too much to ask for? Do something, but do not close the toll gate! That is not the solution.
MATHEW NINAN
Jakarta
Rafiq Mahmood, Bogor (not verified) — Fri, 10/10/2008 - 5:48pm
Air travel is horrible. We get stressed trying to get to the airport on time, we worry about whether the plane is going to be late, we have to deal with all the security and bureaucratic checks based on the assumption that we are all terrorists and criminals, we have to argue about our baggage allowance and then we are squeezed into a cylinder with our knees squeezed against the seat in front, squashed by the occupant of that seat reclining it, balancing a tray and trying to eat with your elbows tucked in and then delicately negotiating with strangers to escape to the queue for the loo at a time when trolleys are not being pushed back and forth. We arrive exhausted and then have to face overworked immigration, hoping that the luggage has arrived and is intact and then having to face the endless taxi touts.
All this to "save time"! We are so crippled by the experience that we need a week to recover before we can work at full strength again.
Flying to Singapore is just plain silly. The plane emits relatively huge amounts of pollutants flying below optimum cruising height on such a short hop. And the passengers don't even have enough time for a cramped snooze.
The boat journey takes time and but being more leisurely, we arrive relaxed. Sometimes it is a good thing to be out of touch from the office for a while - it makes us more humble when we realise that we are not indespensible. But we can still do all the work we want on board and stretch our legs and easily walk about so we can think clearer. It is not so easy to work on a plane or airport. It is cheaper by boat and the fiscal is only 50% if we leave from Batam.
We are all in too much of a hurry to reach our graves. Air travel is expensive in terms of the environment and the health of the passengers. I agree that there needs to be more maritime safety enforcement in Indonesia; mainly because only poor people "who don't count" mainly use it. Boat travel is more human and if more business people used it standards would improve and more direct routes would be opened.