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A more 'civilized' Indonesia?: Netizens astonished by Jakartans lining up at bus stops
A video was uploaded to Instagram showing commuters lining up along a crossing bridge to get in and out of Transjakarta bus stops on Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman.
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Passengers wait for a Transjakarta bus at a newly built concrete bus stop on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta. Pedestrians were previously forced to walk across the green lane to board their bus. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama )
Jakartans are notorious for many things. One of them is their refusal — or inability — to line up for anything.
So, when the Instagram account @jktinfo shared a video of Jakartans forming a long line to enter Transjakarta bus stations, netizens were enthralled, and the footage instantly went viral.
The video shows commuters lining up along a crossing bridge to get in and out of Transjakarta bus stops on Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman. It has received 146,000 views so far and more than 400 comments, most of which were positive and lauded the positive behavior.
The caption underneath the post reads: “On Monday, lines getting into and off Transjakarta bus stops. We wish you well on returning to your daily activities and the best of luck for 2019.”
Instagram user @arif_packer commented: “[...] Insya Allah [God willing], Jakarta can be better. The country has become more civilized, thanks to Jakartans as the main actors of supporting a better Indonesia.”
Another user @nonabinyo wrote: “If only this kind of behavior was not limited to bus stops. But I’m always happy to see this view on Jl. Sudirman whenever I get off work. Good job!”
On Twitter, a video of commuters lining up to enter Transjakarta’s Karet bus stop was posted by @thedufresn and has been retweeted more than 9,000 times as of Monday morning. He captioned it: “Who says Indonesians can’t line up?”
Siapa bilang orang Indonesia ngga bisa antri? pic.twitter.com/CcCWDUJyWU
— Ismail Al Anshori (@thedufresne) 4 January 2019
However, some commented that older passengers, usually older women, could not line up as well as their younger counterparts.
Twitter user @selingkhu said: “Pardon me, us youngsters can still line up, but older people sometimes ruin [the line].”
mohon maaf, kita yg muda-mudi masih bisa mengantri. tapi yg tua-tua terkadang suka merusaknya :(
— tapi, kamu kok (@selingkhu) 4 January 2019
While many believe there is still a lot to be done to develop a “lining up culture” in the country, the videos have sparked hope for a more civilized Indonesia.
wow cool! semoga budaya antri ini cepat merebaknya dipenjuru negeri
— k 4 r 1 n 4 (@karasisti) 4 January 2019
Twitter user @karasisti tweeted: “Wow cool! I hope this [habit] can spread to all corners of the country.”
Editor's note:
The article has been updated to clarify that PT Transjakarta did not upload the video.
