‘BIKE TO WORK’ IS A MERE DREAM

‘BIKE TO WORK’ IS A MERE DREAM

20/10/08

A few months ago, my brother and I went to D’best-Department store in Cilandak. But he didn’t tell what exactly he wanted to buy at D’best. Surprisingly, he didn’t went to the department store, instead he went to another shop in the area of D’best. Then, turn out that he went looking to bike shop. My brother is one of people-including me-who is agree with the idea ‘Bike to Work’. We are both like to exercising and do some sport together. And biking is certainly one of sport that we have missed so much since we were in elementary school. My brother intends to buy a bike for daily activities in his campus. I supported the idea of course! I think it’s also fun to ride a bike around campus. But to bad he canceled it. After I think about for a while, riding a bike in Jatinangor (his campus) was not a good idea. Beside the mountain contour, Jatinangor has rife with motor vehicles. Not only motorcycles and cars, but it also truck or even container crossing the Jalan Raya Jatinangor. It’s dangerous!

Environmental issue is currently a trend. Numerous Mass Media-printed or electronic-are competing to win audience’s attention by publishing environmental issue on their agenda. Corporations are also labeling their products with “green” labels or “green” languages such as “Fossil Fuel; Green Groceries; Biodegradable; Bio-fuel; and etc” which explaining it’s an environmental friendly product. Indonesia current government is also shows their concerns to the global environmental corrosion by hold a very vibrant and ambitious UNCCC which involves 10.000 world’s leaders to discuss the problems. Yup, it seems that 2007 was the year of environmental issue. It’s the enlightenment year of the world society that this is the time to consciously put this issue into notion and to do something about it. Since then, we often read, listen, or watch many tips from our friends and mass media on how to live life which is environmental friendly. One of the brilliant ideas is ‘Bike to Work’! It’s smart idea which is environmentally friendly and promoting healthy life at the same time. Now in 2008, people are-supposed to-more aware of how important the idea is.

Like I said, riding a bike is good for health. It’s true effective cardio training besides treadmill. Can you imagine how healthy you are if you riding a bike to work 5 days in week? Maybe you won’t see fat showing out from your tight pants no more! But to bad, today people are prefer to use motorcycle rather than bike. Car and motorcycle truly define what is technology all about-it’s suppose to make people’s life easier, isn’t it? So I guess current traffic conditions are depict that bike is not anymore in most people’s garage.

Unlike automobile or motorcycle, bike is a kind of traditional and old fashioned technology. It’s the analog camera of the current digital camera. It’s the buffalo-strength plough of the plough-machine. It’s the pong game of the current sony playstation. In short, Bike a human-strength technology. Since 1990s, people were started leave this technology and shifted their focus on cars and motorcycle. The number of car and motorcycle were increasing dramatically since then. Especially, current car and motorcycle purchasing are a lot easier than it was. Producers promote ‘Low Down Payment and Long-term credit payment’. What else could be tempting than that? All citizens with different social economic condition are now able purchasing a piece of “environmental friendly” and anti-fatigue technology. Now people can relax their muscles by using this technology advancement and cast bicycle away from their mind-which is led to the environmental damage by the thickening ozone layer causing the green house effect.

Now that people are enlightened from their relaxing dream, they are starting to act! President SBY join the ‘Bike to Work’ movement by leading 3000 bikers pedaling bike from the National Monument to the state’s palace in Jakarta-although it’s too short in distance, it’s a two thumbs-up for the president. Citizens of Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke separately start to join and support this idea. One of mass media cited that there are 10.000 people had joined to a mailing list that supporting Bike to Work-although it’s just a mailing list, but it’s a real effort.

But unfortunately, this brilliant idea’s vibrant weren’t last long enough. The agenda is now shifted. And Bike to work is falling to oblivion. And people start to ‘dreaming’ again.

Why is ‘Bike to Work oblivious? Why it’s just a mere dream?

Dreaming of global citizens is ‘Bike to Work’-ing is utopian. It’s an utopist dream so that people consider it as too good to be true. Especially in the city I live in, Jakarta. It’s a mere dream!

The Lost of Lion’s Credibility!

Ok, Michael Jackson said that if we want to make the world a better place, we must take a look at our self and make a change. Well, I personally realized the benefit of the idea ‘Bike to Work’ or Bike to everywhere else’. But I also realized that I could put my life in danger by doing ‘Bike to Work’ in Jakarta. Jakarta is a jungle where motorcyclist and car driver species are ubiquitous and rampant. Too many of them so they even established their own rules in their jungle. You see, I’m also the citizen of Jakarta Jungle. And sometimes I forcefully have to obey the rules of the majority species. And the rules are: (1) No Bike in Jakarta; and (2) This is a modern city, so there is no Bike in Jakarta. They’re probably bikers in the street, but they are so small minority. And people tend to consider that as a risky thing.

There is always a lion which is the rulers of the jungle. But sometimes when lions are not in place, the mischievous majorities are starting to act by their own rules. As a good citizen of Jakarta, I always try to follow the lion’s rules. But too bad, the current lions are not powerful enough and had lost their credibility. Yeah, Police currently can’t guarantee the safety of bikers. Their credibility is not well perceived anymore by the society. We often see when motorcyclists are queue up beyond street light’s line, and somehow police cannot make them stays in order to wait before the line. Or sometime we can see a motorcyclist taking the other side lane to avoid traffic and they perceive that as normal. Once again police officer has lost their roar.

Unsupportive Infrastructure!

Roads, underpass, bypass, flyover, etc are made for cars and motorcycles. As you know, car and motor drivers are often breaking the rules. To ‘Bike to Work’, people will put their life at stake if they have to paddle their bike amongst those drivers. It’s very dangerous! Beside our physical security, our health also threatened by the pollutions.

If the president wants this ‘Bike to Work’ idea to be realized, he must urge to the local government to establish infrastructures that support the idea. Local Government should stop thinking about how to make Jakarta denser. If they truly concern about the global environmental issue, they should start to act about it. It seems they have no intentions to make the idea ‘Bike to Work’ realized. Probably it’s only a discourse to color up the Jakarta dynamism.

Local government should take this idea seriously if they want it to happen. Not only should the government take it seriously, but also the corporations in Jakarta. Jakarta is the populous city in Indonesia. Every year the number of Jakarta citizen is increasing. It’s because Jakarta is the center of Indonesia’s activities. Many people are come to Jakarta to make a better living than they did in their respective hometown. Corporations absorb labors and employees each year. So it means, each corporation has their respective stakeholders to be suggested to adopt the idea. If corporations establish that ‘bike to work’ policy, certainly Jakarta will never be the same again. Can you depict the board of Directors and employees are riding bicycle side by side to go to the office? That’s truly a mere dream…

Bike is not Trendy!

Have you ever seen an executive riding a bike to their office in Jakarta? Have you ever seen a teenagers hang out to the mall by bike in Jakarta? Those are rare view to see and seemingly impossible to happen currently. As you know, media is an agent that injects values to their audiences. Evolution happens to a certain society by imitating other values from other society or from social interaction that occur in that certain society. Surely, riding a bike to work is not a value that Indonesia’s media inject to the its citizens. In contrary, they are injecting western and lavish lifestyles. And it does affect on how Jakarta’s citizen live. Bike is certainly not trendy for the Jakarta’s citizen!

The Comfort of Dream in 2008!

Bike to Work is just a dream also because it’s not well supported by the citizens itself. Live in the convenient of technology has pampered the entire society. I guess we are not going to change, aren’t we? Unless we are very determine to do so. We are too much in love and over depends ourselves to current technologies. That’s why ‘Bike to Work’ is a mere dream.

If you dare, try it! Bike to Work!

~ by Mohammad Ichsan on October 24, 2008.