Speaking of the corona pandemic, honestly, I've been fortunate as I'm still healthy and haven't been infected with the coronavirus until today (hopefully never), but due to the pandemic, now I've had to rent a place closer to the office because mentally and physically, I've been really exhausted since the PPKM regulations made it impossible for me to commute back and forth from home to the workplace. So today, I'm going to vent about the PPKM regulations and my journey to the workplace.
Angkutan Kota or Public Minivans
FYI, the distance from my house to the office is 30 KM, and previously, I used to commute daily using minivans (angkot or angkutan kota) because that's the only available short-distance transportation in this city. I take 4 public transports every day, following the route to the office. During Ramadan, it's usually difficult to find these minivans, especially in the morning, because people tend to sleep after suhoor and also around Maghrib, which is the time to break the fast. But if these minivans aren't available, I'm usually helped by online motorcycle taxis (ojek online) that are almost available 24/7.
When the corona pandemic began, the government issued a regulation called PPKM (Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat or Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities), and I truly don't understand the reasoning behind this rule. There are two rules that have been particularly burdensome for my commute to work after the implementation of PPKM, especially coinciding with the fasting month. These rules are:
1. Online motorcycle taxis are prohibited from carrying passengers because it's said that riding pillion on a motorcycle could rapidly transmit the virus. Additionally, riding pillion is only allowed with family members who have the same address on their IDs. Police will check IDs for motorcycle riders carrying passengers. If the addresses on their IDs differ, sanctions will be imposed.
2. Eating places, eateries, and minimarkets are only allowed to open until 6 PM.
Due to these regulations, I've often been late for work and late getting back home because, as I mentioned earlier, minivans in the morning are rarely operational during Ramadan since drivers tend to start later in the day, which results in me also leaving later, following the minivan driver's routine because there's no other transportation option available besides these minivans after the implementation of PPKM. Because I've frequently been late for work, my salary has often been cut. When coming home from work, I end up getting home much later as I often can't find a minivan during iftar time and have to wait for the evening minivans. I've even walked home because I couldn't find an evening minivan. Imagine this: every day I wake up very early (at 2 AM) for suhoor, after suhoor, I can't sleep like everyone else because I have to get ready for work. When going to work, I have to be extremely patient waiting for the minivan to arrive, even though I'm already cutting it close to my work hours. I have to fast all day (no food or water until Maghrib). When returning from work, I have to deal with the traffic jam during rush hour (FYI, the streets in my city are very narrow, so rush hour traffic going to and coming from work is extremely long), and when trying to catch the last minivan home, it's already iftar time and not a single minivan passes by, meanwhile, you yourself are feeling exhausted, hungry, and thirsty after fasting all day.
Before PPKM, usually during Ramadan, I could still drop by an eatery or a minimarket to break my fast before going home, but because of the PPKM regulations restricting these places from opening past 6 PM, this year I can only wait until the last minivan passes or walk home while holding off hunger and thirst. After several weeks of this, I ended up just carrying water and snacks from home to break my fast on the way while waiting for the minivan, but still, the fatigue is twice as much as before the pandemic.
You might ask, "Why not use long-distance buses or trains?" Well, again, due to transportation limitations, the bus services operate too early, and I often can't find them at the time I leave for work, plus, they're quite expensive compared to the minivan. As for the long-distance train, apart from being more expensive, they depart too late. Another question might be, "Why not bring your own motorcycle?" The answer is I don't own a personal motorcycle at the moment and I don't even have a driving license. This pandemic + PPKM has really caught me off guard.
In my opinion, these two PPKM regulations make absolutely no sense because in reality, there's no social distancing being observed in my city. Factories are still crowded during entry and exit hours. People still engage in leisure activities during Ramadan (ngabuburit) without masks and without any social distancing. The regulations about minivans supposedly accommodating only a few passengers and maintaining distance, but in reality, they are packed full of passengers without any distancing. So why ban online motorcycle taxis? If the drivers are healthy, wear masks, and don't engage in much conversation with passengers, it seems it would be safe.
Who knows? Hopefully, these nonsensical PPKM regulations will end soon, and the world will return to how it used to be.
