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Public transportation less crowded, but commuters remain calm
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Protesters gather in front of the Rawa Buntu commuter line station in Tangerang, Banten, on Friday morning. The protesters are heading to Central Jakarta to take part in a large-scale rally in Central Jakarta. (JP/Bambang Nurbianto)
F
riday's expected rally has apparently failed to affect commuters in the capital, with most of them carrying out their daily activities as per usual.
One of commuters, Novi, 34, said she initially did not realize a rally was going to take place as the number of commuters at the Sudimarn train station, South Tangerang, remained normal.
"The station is still crowded with people going to work. No one talked about the rally. Everything remains the same," said Novi.
She, however, was reminded of the rally once she saw groups of men wearing white shirts and caps gathering aboard the train.
"After I saw them I realized the train was less crowded than usual," Novi added. "Usually, there aren’t even slight spaces between passengers but today there were significant spaces among the standing ones."
It was also less crowded in city-owned Transjakarta buses.
"Passenger numbers are not as high today. Buses were not fully occupied this morning," admitted Transjakarta operational director Daud Joseph.
Meanwhile, intercity buses from Tangerang, Banten, are mostly deserted, with only one or two dozen passengers.
Tangerang - Jakarta toll roads are deserted, with buses reaching Slipi, West Jakarta, from Tangerang, within 25 minutes - much faster than the usual two hours. (dmr)
