Rita Kartika (rk3218) | Introduction to Transportation Planning | Fall 2024 MS Urban Planning | Columbia University
Transportation Memoir Introduction I grew up in a small city called Tasikmalaya in West Java, Indonesia. It is not exactly rural, but it is far from being a big urban city like Jakarta. There was no MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) or BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system, and the only public transport available was angkot, small public minivans. The main issue with the angkot system in Tasikmalaya was its limited coverage and inefficient routes. Not all areas of the city were included in the angkot routes, which meant that many parts of the city were not easily accessible by public transport. As a result, private vehicles were still very much a necessity for most people, including my family. In my neighborhood, there were no sidewalks, which made walking anywhere quite risky because we had to walk right next to the road. Even in the city center, where sidewalks existed, they were often taken over by street vendors, which forced pedestrians to walk on the road. Growing up in a place with limited public transportation options and lack of walkable infrastructure really shaped how I viewed cities and the way people move through them. It made me realize that a well-designed transportation system is essential for making a city livable and accessible for everyone.
Transportation Experience Growing Up Before I started using public transport independently in the fourth grade, I used to take a becak (pedicab) to school. From kindergarten until around fourth grade, I had a regular becak driver who would pick me up and drop me off every day. I remember one day vividly, from when I was in kindergarten. It was the end of the school day, and everyone had been picked up except for me. I was just sitting there, waiting. After what felt like forever, my mom found out that my becak driver had not shown up because he was gambling nearby. That experience made me realize how unreliable the becak could be, especially for something as important as taking a child to and from school. By the time I reached the fourth grade, I started using angkot to get home from school. It was my first taste of independence, but it came with its own frustrations. The distance between my
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