By Norheriety Suhaimi
My name is Norheriety Suhaimi, a Malaysian girl based in Arcadis Indonesia (Jakarta Office). I work as Team Leader under the Cost Management Division. I have been living in Bangkok, Thailand and Phnom Penh, Cambodia before moving to Jakarta.
About myself
About myself, running has been on my radar since 2012 as part of my day therapy, as a variation on my normal workweek as a typical white collar worker. My hobby has brought me to many places as part of my runcations. I have completed various distances from 5km to 50km and from city runs to trail runs.
I hope Jakarta one day will have a lot of green parks and wider pathways so that I can freely run in open area and not need to be worried about getting hit. Running at pathways or on the roadside is not safe due to the narrow size, poor side condition and traffic factor.
Jakarta: unpredictable , hectic and crazy traffic
Let me introduce you to the city where I currently live, which is Jakarta and also known as Batavia (Dutch colonial era) or Sunda Kelapa (Sunda Kingdom era) .
The Greater Jakarta metropolitan area (Jabodetabek combination of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi) is the 2nd largest urban population with 30,214,303 people after Tokyo, Japan with a density of 14,464/km2.
Jakarta is famous for its unpredictable , hectic and crazy traffic condition. Don’t be surprised if the traffic changes in just under a few minutes in the same area. Most people still prefer to use their personal vehicle to move around due to limited coverage and frequency of public transportation. Currently, public transportation in Jakarta serves only 56% of commuter trips. Due to that reason the local authority has introduced a law for “odd and even” plate in order to control the incoming vehicles to the city center at peak hour.
The local government has introduced Transjakarta, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system which has been operated since January 15, 2004 as transportation mode and part of the solution to the traffic problem. The BRT route has been expanded since 2004 and today there are 241 stations that connect each corner of the city . This transportation mode is the a primary choice of citizens, because it is cheap, with affordable flat rates of IDR2,000 (5 – 7am) and IDR3,500 (other times) for a single journey.
A commuter rail system with 6 lines and 80 stations (Bogor-Jakarta Kota, Bogor – Jatinegara, Bekasi – Jakarta Kota, Rangkasbitung – Tanah Abang, Tangerang – Duri, Tanjung Priok – Jakarta Kota ) known as KRL Jabodetabek is a common mode of transportation to suburban area. The affordable rate starts from IDR3,000 for the first 25km and IDR1,000 for next 10km.
Jakarta will have its first ever MRT system known as MRT Jakarta, and will consist of 2 lines (M1 North – South Line and M2 East – West line) . M1 line for Phase 1 from Lebak Buluk to Bundaran Hotel Indonesia (13 station and 15.7km long) will be operative by the end of 2018 for trial run. M1 line for Phase 2 of from Bundaran Hotel Indonesia to Kampung Bandan will target to be operative in 2020. M2 line from Cikarang (Bekasi) to Balaraja (Tangerang) is targeted to be operative in 2025.
The Asian Games
This year, Jakarta will co-host the 18th Asian Games, together with Palembang, from August 18 to September 2, 2018.
The opening day is just a day after Indonesia’s Independence day, which is celebrated on August 17 each year. Gelora Bung Karno complex, which is the main arena for the Asian Games, is just within 1km from Arcadis Indonesia’s office. This will be a golden opportunity to watch the event live.
I hope you enjoyed reading a little story about myself and my hectic city. Hope to host any of GS Community members in my city soon
Matur Nuwun – Sampai Jumpa Lagi – See You Next Time
