When I was in junior high school in Jakarta, I often used public transportation to go home or to aunt number 2's house after school. I have been held at gunpoint about 7 times and had a bus accident 2 times.

Often choose public transportation to go home or to aunt number 2's house

My cousin's sister picks us up every morning and then leaves together for school. When I came home from school, I often chose to take public transportation to go home or to aunt number 2's house, because my cousin and uncle number 7 often played basketball after school. At that time, I didn't really like basketball, so I left the driver and chose to take public transportation.

At first, the way I learned to ride public transportation was through school friends, people waiting at bus stops, and public transportation drivers.

Once held at gunpoint, but there was a change from the perpetrator

At that time, I often used public transportation such as Kopaja, Metro Mini, or Angkot. Shoving usually happens when I walk from school to the bus stop. The perpetrators were usually children the same age as me, and some of them were still wearing school uniforms. Although they were carrying knives, they asked for it in a polite tone and thanked me after taking the money from me.

The most memorable incident until now is one afternoon when I came home from school and was walking towards the bus stop. I was approached by about 6 schoolchildren in junior high school uniforms, and one of them was holding a knife and asking for Rp. 500. At that time I only had a note of Rp. 1,000 and a few notes of Rp. 100. Then I asked if there was any change because I only had a Rp.1,000 note. After they heard that, they replied that they had the change, so when I handed over the Rp. 1,000, they also gave a Rp. 500 as change.

I always assumed that most of them do the stabbing because they are pressured by their financial situation, so every time I give it willingly.

Sometimes, after being held at gunpoint and I don't have the money to take public transportation home, I will tell the driver of the public transport, and they always let me ride without having to pay for it.

Accident while riding an angkot

One day I came home from school and took a red angkot to aunt number 2's house. When the angkot went down a fairly high slope, the angkot brake did not work, and the angkot I was riding fell and rolled over. But I was very lucky; after the angkot rolled over, my position was in a standing state, and only a few minor injuries were caused by small glass. Then several people and I helped other passengers get out of the angkot, including a pregnant woman.

After all the passengers got out of the angkot, I was the last person to get out of there, and at that time I realized that many people were around the angkot and saw what happened. Then I waited for the next angkot to continue the journey to my aunt's house.

Angkot is similar to the one I rode when I had an accident in junior high school in Indonesia.

After the accident, my grandmother no longer allowed me to ride public transportation by the grandmother

One afternoon I went with my best friend Firman to a special worship event together. It happened that at that time there was no driver, and my mother had business with my aunt. When the event was over, we decided to take the Mini Metro to go home. For me, riding the Metro Mini is not a terrible thing, as my friends tell me; sometimes, even though the Metro Mini bus is very full, I also ride it anyway.

Since the house of the World was farther away from me, I got off first. When I got off the bus, I was in such a hurry to get off that I was dragged by the bus because I was still holding the door of the bus. I was very lucky because there were no other vehicles next to this bus. I only had a leg injury because my trousers were torn and my accomplices were injured in several parts. At that time, Firman was very surprised, and I told him not to get off the bus.

Then I walked home and was scolded by our grandmother and domestic worker. When my mother and father returned home, my grandmother ordered that I not be allowed to take public transportation again. So since then I have had to be picked up by the driver or my mother to go back and forth to school or to other places.

Hanging on the Mini Metro has become a common thing for me in junior high school in Indonesia. [Photo: Automotive 1998 edition]