Bandung's New Angkot Design

Under the leadership of our new mayor, Ridwan Kamil, one of Indonesia's most prominent architects and city planners, Bandung has got a new hope and gradual facelift. Among the things he recently introduced is this: the new design for its ubiquitous and 'notorious' Angkot.

Instead of the plain colors designating the angkot's routes, the new design puts images of Bandung's most cherished heritage and attractions, and writing that says "Bandung, City of World Tourism" in Indonesian (Roman alphabets) and Sundanese alphabets.

This new design is part of the campaign to strengthen the citizen's awareness of the city's heritage and image so that they will be more active in taking part in keeping their city's cleanliness and beauty.

These photographs were taken by Agus Wahyudi, a photographer friend of mine and frequent contributor of Bandung Daily Photo. Thanks, Pak Agus.

Leuwi Panjang Bus Terminal

Caption: Passangers walking to the buses waiting to be dispatched at Leuwi Panjang Bus Terminal.

Located at Jalan Soekarno-Hatta No. 205 in the southwest of Bandung, Leuwi Panjang Bus Terminal is currently one of the two main bus terminals connecting Bandung with other cities on the island of Java and beyond. The other terminal is Cicaheum in the eastern part of the city.

Leuwi Panjang mainly caters buses that connect Bandung to cities and towns to the west of it, such as Jakarta, Sukabumi, Bogor, Bekasi, Tangerang, Serang, and Merak as well as cities on the island of Sumatra.

A Midget Car

 You might wonder what car this head lamp belongs to. But look at the photo below:

 

Yes, it's a three-wheeled Daihatsu Midget.

According to Wikipedia, the car was first introduced in 1957. The original (the first or the DK) model of this car had an air-cooled, 2-stroke 250 cc engine which produced 10 hp (7 kW). In 1959, the second model (known as the MP model) was launched with a slightly bigger engine, 305 cc, which can produce 12 HP (9 KW). A variety of DK models had since then been produced until 1972, when Daihatsu, the manufacturer, decided to stop the production. By that time, nearly 350,000 units of it had been produced.

In Bandung and many other cities in Indonesia, the car was popularly called Bemo and used mainly as means of public transportation. Hence, the word 'Bemo' became for a long time synonymous with public transportation mini buses.

Give Way, Please!

Passengers trying to get off the commuter train meet -- and are blocked by -- those who are trying to get on it. Queuing and giving ways are manners that many of us are yet to learn. Unfortunately, only very little deliberate efforts have ever been made to do so. The situation is much worse with the commuter trains because the number of passengers far outnumber the available cars and trips. Out of panic, most passengers would rush to the platform as soon as the train is approaching and try to get on it before those inside can get off. It's a dangerous stampede-like experience especially for children, women, old people, and people with disabilities.

Public and mass transportation transportation system is long overdue homework for the city's government. There is virtually no working, well-coordinated, safe and convenient system of public and mass transportation system in this city.

Delman

Delman is a horse-drawn carriage or buggy like the one pictured above.

You would probably think that delman is no longer in use as a means of transportation in a big city like Bandung. But it is. In several parts of the city, particularly on streets/roads that connect the city with its suburban areas, it is still very much in use as a popular means of transportation. The one pictured above, for example, serves the route of Cimindi and Gunung Batu area.

A delman looks like an environmentally friendly means of transportation. It burns no fuels and hence produces zero carbon emission. However, without a special lane allocated to it, it often causes a long queue of motor vehicles behind it. In small roads and during rush hours, a single slowly-moving delman can turn what is already a bad traffic into an even more annoying congestion. Hence, what on the surface looks like an environmentally friendly means of transportation can actually be a significant - albeit indirect - contributor of air pollution.

Photo by Agus Wahyudi (a freelance photographer and Bandung Daily Photo contributor).

Terminal Ledeng

Terminal Ledeng (Ledeng Bus Station) is one of the stations for the city buses and angkot minibuses (the main mode of public transportation in Bandung). It is located in the northern end of the city on Dr Setiabudhi street.

As you can see in the picture, old city buses like this - some as old as 25 years - are still operating in the city. Comfort and pollution are out of questions. Indeed this city direly needs to overhaul its public city transportation.

On Board Argo Parahiyangan

I'm on my way to Jakarta this morning. And this is the train I'm taking: the executive class of The Argo Parahiyangan.

There used to be two train services that connected Bandung and Jakarta: Parahiyangan and the Argo Gede. Early this year, however, the Parahiyangan service was discontinued and was attached to The Argo Gede. Hence the name 'Argo Parahiyangan'.

The Indonesian railway company (PT KAI) decided to merge the services because of the steep competition it was facing from shuttle bus services that could offer better fares and faster travel time between Bandung and Jakarta since the opening of Cipularang toll highway.

This is a mobile upload. My apology if the picture quality is not that good. I took the photo with my mobile phone's 2MP camera and uploaded it right after I took it.

Ghost Train

The car of the economy-class KRD commuter train traveling its last trip in the evening is dim and grim like a ghost train. Despite its look, however, it's relatively safe. I often use it to get home in the evening because it is the cheapest and fastest means of public transportation to get to the suburb from the city center.