Ahead of Eid, Konde.co published three (3) special edition series in the #MenagihTransumAman series which aired on March 24, 25 and 26, 2025. Today’s article is the first in the series featuring the results of Konde.co’s research.
Every time they step into a bus stop or station, there is a sense of anxiety that women and vulnerable groups cannot ignore.
In the vehicle that is supposed to carry them safely, unpleasant experiences haunt them – intrusive stares, unwanted touches, or even harsh words that lurk at any time.
For a number of women and gender minority respondents surveyed by Konde.co, such experiences are a constant source of discomfort. Every time they have to use public transportation, they become more vigilant, trying to avoid similar situations in order to exit the terminus with relief.
In those unpleasant moments, some passengers decide to keep quiet and not report, fearing that it will be futile, while others fightback to counter the argument that women cannot be harassed on public transportation because of their clothes.
People with disabilities also have to deal with elevators that are often broken and staff who are not ready to help them. Transportation systems should be designed with a gender and inclusivity perspective. Urban planning and transportation have tended to ignore the needs of minorities.
The inclusiveness survey on public transportation for women and gender minorities was conducted by Konde.co for two weeks during February-March 2025 and was filled in by 87 respondents. After data cleaning, 83 valid data from 87 respondents were taken.
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The majority of public transportation users in this survey are women who come from cities in Indonesia, aged 18-25 years, live in urban areas, and prefer to use buses as the main mode of transportation with the number of disabilities and parents/guardians who bring children amounting to 12.5% of the total respondents.
Based on this data, the most frequently used mode of transportation is bus with a percentage of 31.25%. Other modes that are also quite widely used are Kereta Rel Listrik or KRL (22.12%), Mass Rapid Transit or MRT (13.94%), angkot (12.98%), and long-distance and local trains at 7.69% and 6.73% respectively. Meanwhile, Light Rail Transit or LRT is the least used mode of transportation with a percentage of 5.29%.
Public transportation is the lifeblood of community mobility. However, for women, gender minorities, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, traveling by public transportation is not just about getting from one place to another, but also about how they can arrive safely, safely, comfortably, and without obstacles. Unfortunately, data shows that public transportation systems are far from inclusive and safe for all.
Konde.co maps the threats in public space in the public transportation sector and its supporting facilities into sections detailed as follows.
1.Threat of Sexual Harassment in Public Transportation
For women, taking public transportation often means being prepared to face the risk of sexual harassment.
From the data analysed, buses are the mode of transportation with the highest harassment cases (22.4%), followed by KRL (20.8%), angkot (10.4%), and bus stops or stations (13-16%). Crowded modes of transportation and lack of supervision are vulnerable areas for women.
The forms of harassment experienced also vary. Verbal harassment such as catcalling and inappropriate comments occurred in 23 cases, making it the most frequent form of harassment. Physical harassment such as unauthorized touching was recorded in 19 cases, while visual harassment such as intimidating stares or unauthorized photographing appeared in 14 cases. This shows that even though monitoring technologies such as CCTV are starting to be implemented in some modes of transportation, there are still many loopholes that keep women in unsafe conditions.
Teresa (not her real name), one of the survey respondents interviewed by Konde.co shared her experience when Bungurasih terminal became a space filled with threats on all sides. As a student who often goes back and forth from Surabaya to Jember, the bus is the mode of transportation she used to choose most often. However, most of time the simple trip turned into a trail which unpleasant.
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“You have to walk first from the passenger drop-off to the bus that goes from Surabaya to Jember. I was catcalled a lot, especially since I was always alone when I went back to campus,” she says.
However, for her, the worst happened on the bus. Teresa tells the story of how a hawker casually put merchandise on her chest.
“I kept quiet, still processing. I just held the merchandise. Sometimes because I’m tired, I’m like, “Well, whatever,” and then I pretend to sleep because I’m scared, even though it’s crowded. When I take the bus, I often do that,” she said.
That fear made her even more defensive in her dressing. She tried to hide herself from attention, wearing baggy clothes, jackets, masks and hats. But it was never really enough.
“In fact, I was wearing normal clothes, just a loose shirt and pants, it’s called traveling,” she explained in surprise.
When the terminal infrastructure starts to improve, Teresa can’t help but be optimistic. She believes that it is not only the infrastructure that needs to change, but also the system and mentality of the people in it.
“Even though the terminal is said to be good, if the people are still the same, it’s useless,” Teresa laments.
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Meanwhile in Jakarta, Salsa (not her real name) also had an unpleasant experience on the bus. At that time on Transjakarta, Salsa experienced incident similar to Teresa. She was groped on the thigh by an unknown man.
“I was wearing black leather pants, long pants, and a long black sweater. Anyway, everything is covered. Suddenly unknown man move his hand toward me. At first I didn’t really pay attention because I was looking everywhere. Well, after a while I could feel his hand on my thigh,” she said.
When she realized what was happening, her body stiffened. She panicked, but could not react immediately.
“What are these gentlemen doing? He’s really groping like that, you know, like really groping like that,” Salsa said, repeating herself twice in disbelief.
“It’s really annoying. We just want to go home. Even though on the (Transjakarta) busway there is also a voice over every few minutes saying (an appeal not to harass). But why do people still do that? It’s really strange,” she said disgustedly.
In other parts of Jakarta, RK is dealing with the same terror. Public transportation, which is predicted as a solution to congestion, for RK has become a recurring field of fear. Since she first experienced sexual harassment on the Commuter Line (KRL), she began to understand an unwanted pattern: when the first harassment occurred, the second followed, then the third, the fourth, until finally five times.
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“What I experienced varied, from catcalls, strokes, to being followed and stared at from the starting station to the end station. I was even stalked until the perpetrator moved seats to approach me even though the carriage was quiet,” she said.
An appeal poster related to sexual harassment on KRL facilities. (Photo: Luthfi Maulana Adhari/Konde.co)
The fourth incident on KRL facilities and the fifth on public transportation was experienced in early 2025. At that time, RK was in transit at Tanah Abang station to go to Sudirman station. On the platform transfer stairs, she was groped by an unknown person. The incident at Tanah Abang station has happened twice in RK’s experience.
“The last experience was in early 2025, I got off at Tanah Abang station (from the Rangkas line), wanting to move (transit) platform to the Cikarang line. The station was really full. There were two stairs (up and down) which because they were full, so two lines went up. I went up, then there was one man going down, just him. When he went down, he grabbed the back of my thigh.”
“At that moment, I was also carried up. I looked back, (the perpetrator) was gone. It seems that the person behind me saw the incident. The problem is that when I looked back, she also looked back, as if looking for or knowing who did it,” she said.
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Although long-distance trains are one of the modes with fewer cases of sexual harassment in the survey, it does not necessarily make it safe. Sekar (not her real name) still remembers her trip from Surabaya to Bekasi vividly. Alone on a night train, she found herself being observed by a man sitting across the seat from her.
“So I took the train alone. The seat next to me was empty. Across the bench there was a man just sitting, a man around 40 years old,” she recalled.
At first, she tried to ignore. There was no touching, no harsh words, but the look in the man’s eyes made her feel uncomfortable.
“Every time I do something I feel like I’m being stared at, so I feel uncomfortable.”
This fear was not new to her. Long before that night trip, she experienced a more terrifying incident as a child. Sekar and her friends saw exhibitionist behavior while walking in public spaces.
“I was in the 6th grade of elementary school, and I was walking home from school with my friends. There happened to be two girls. When we were walking, we accidentally saw a man masturbating,” she explained.
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Sekar didn’t know what to do at the time. She and her friends just chose to keep quiet and keep the fear to themselves.
“Because I wasn’t the only one who saw it, I was with my friends. We were shocked, anyway. The three of us chose to keep it to ourselves. Because we didn’t know what to do,” she continued.
2.Become a Bystander Instead of Stand Up for Survivors
The response from the public to incidents of sexual harassment tends to be passive.
A total of 59.1% of eyewitnesses admitted that they did not realize the incident had occurred, while 29.5% saw but chose not to act. Only 4.5% dared to help the victim or reprimand the perpetrator.
This data at least shows the normalization of harassment in public spaces and the lack of courage to intervene.
Salsa, for example, after getting off the bus where she was harassed, anger and self-confidence collided in her mind.
“I just got harassed, I think I just got harassed,” Salsa told her friends while still processing what happened. But instead of getting sympathy, Salsa got the response she least wanted to hear.
“Yes, it’s okay, but it’s good, isn’t it?” said one of her female friends.
“It’s good for your head!” said Salsa as she left the group chat.
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RK felt the same way. Of the five experiences of sexual harassment experienced, the lack of response from the surrounding despite the crowd was quite disappointing to her. Even so, RK still thinks that those who see may show empathy but are confused to act, as she is a victim.
“I mean, those who saw too, yes, they turned their heads. Maybe there is a little empathy, a little pity, or a little awareness, but that’s it, that’s it,” she explained.
Standing up for survivors does not always mean reporting. When the harassment happened to Salsa, there were other women who saw, realized, and helped to keep her away from the perpetrator. For Salsa, these actions were also enough to help her even though she did not report.
“Maybe she (the woman who helped) was also aware, she saw what the men were doing even though it was very crowded. She pulled me up and gave me a place to move,” Salsa said.
3.Fear and Avoidance: The Impact of Survivors of Sexual Harassment in Public Transportation
The impact of the harassment is very real for the victims. As many as 27% of victims experience trauma and fear, while 21.6% feel unsafe when using public transportation. Some even choose to avoid public transportation altogether (13.5%).
Teresa experienced this fear, she now chooses to use trains instead of buses, even though she sometimes has to transit in certain cities.
“Now I prefer to take the train because there are many routes to the eastern region, although sometimes I have to transit in Malang,” she said.
Meanwhile, RK, in her last harassment, had to ask permission to work from home for a week to avoid the KRL. RK is grateful because the office where she works understands what she is going through.
“I took a week’s permission for WFH (work from home). My boss was also thankfully good, he immediately understood, at first I didn’t want to tell him, but my condition didn’t look good at the office so I was asked and finally came out (the story),” she recalled.
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After a week, because there are no other public transportation options besides KRL, now RK still uses the same mode of transportation almost every day. The sense of anxiety and sometimes anxiety is clear that she still stays. In addition, until now she still regrets not immediately intercepting the perpetrator after she experienced the last harassment.
“When I went up the stairs, I saw the hand. That’s what I feel until now there is a sense of dissatisfaction with my actions. I felt that I should have screamed or held his hand immediately, because it was really bad.”
“For me after that, riding the train became more cautious, more often afraid, and tried to avoid crowds,” said RK.
One week without public transportation was an experience that Salsa also felt. When she told her closest people about her bad experience, Salsa was reluctant and not even allowed to use public transportation.
“At that time, I really didn’t want to and wasn’t allowed to take public transportation again for several days, almost a week at that time,” she recalled.
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Recovering and fighting back is the right idiom for Salsa. After she was harassed even with her clothes covered and received non-empathetic comments from her own friends, after a week Salsa felt more empowered and rose from her fear.
Salsa now even tries to wear clothes that are considered more open to break the argument that women are harassed because of their clothes.
“Ah, never mind, I want to try to use train again. If I wear closed clothes, I get harassed, so now I just wear open clothes,” Salsa thought.
4.Reporting Mechanisms that are Far From Clear
In terms of reporting, there are still many obstacles that make victims reluctant to speak out.
As many as 40.6% of victims do not report because they are still processing the events they experienced, while 37.5% feel that reports will not be followed up. There are also those who feel ashamed or guilty (9.4%) and fear of threats from the perpetrator (6.3%). These figures show the need for a more victim-friendly reporting system and public education that encourages them to report cases of harassment without fear.
Sekar herself has witnessed sexual harassment on the bus. As happened to Teresa, an unknown hawker used his merchandise as an excuse to touch her friend’s thigh. They were furious at the time, but decided not to report it.
“At that time there was a hawker selling tofu placed on the bus seat, my friend didn’t want to buy it. Then because she refused, he immediately grabbed my friend’s thigh. The gimmick was to take the tofu. But he shouldn’t have grabbed her thigh.”
“Mas, no need to be like that” she rebuked with anger.
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“Then he (the perpetrator) pretend to ignored because it was crowded there too. Then finally he decided to leave,” she added.
Being asked why she did not report the incident to the bus, Sekar only sighed.
“For myself, I decided not to report it because I thought the response would be like that (disrespected). So far, what I have seen in my daily life, if for example I report being harassed, there is no follow-up.”
“So I feel like I’m a little lazy. Lazy to report. The problem is that there is no follow-up,” she explained.
Unlike Sekar, who chose to directly reprimand the perpetrator, Salsa once reported the sexual harassment she saw on Transjakarta to a female officer. At that time, Salsa admitted that the officer showed an agile response to her report.
The perpetrator was immediately dropped off at the next stop as soon as the officer contacted his colleague at the next stop at the BPJS Jamsostek bus stop.
“(After seeing the incident) I went down first and then I reported (to the officer), then after that I said what the characteristics of the girls (victims) were like and what the person (perpetrator) was like. Then after that I was followed up again by the officer, she said, it has been taken down, this is not the person? The photo was taken and then shown to me.”
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“They are integrated with each other, fast too (handling), and fortunately also the person (perpetrator) does not know who reported. So they (TJ officers) don’t tell me if I report them. If the perpetrator knew who reported it, they could have chased me,” she recalled.
Signs advising against sexual harassment on Transjakarta buses. (Photo: Luthfi Maulana Adhari/Konde.co)
However, Salsa also feels that the reporting process on public transportation is far from effective. From her experience reporting, the perpetrator received a warning from the officer and was still allowed to ride Transjakarta at a later date.
“Furthermore, if for example you ride TJ (TransJakarta) again, don’t repeat the act again,” said Salsa, imitating the officer’s reprimand that she conveyed at that time.
“I also didn’t really follow up because I really wanted to go straight home. Anyway, I was told by the officer that they had warned the culprit not to do that again,” she explained.
She hopes for a clearer and more responsive system. From her experience as a victim, the current system and mechanism are still not enough to make victims dare to report.
“In my opinion, it’s not (good) yet, because for example in Transjakarta on the bus (sometimes) there is no one we can contact, there is only the driver,” she said.
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“Anyway, where to report, even if you are given a phone number, like call here. I also think it’s actually less effective because it’s not necessarily that the admin on the phone number can answer immediately,” she said.
Indeed, it has never been easy for survivors of sexual violence to be able to report. RK, who has experienced harassment five times, still feels hesitant, afraid of being considered excessive, and more than that, is not sure there is action that can be taken.
“I felt there was no strong evidence to report. For example, if a passenger grabs my hand or leg, I can’t report it directly because there is no evidence,” she complains.
When harassment occurs, she often freezes. Her distrust of the reporting system in public transportation made her choose to remain silent.
“I thought, ‘what will the officer do if I report it?’ At most, I would only be reprimanded or given a warning. I also felt, how severe does sexual violence have to be for there to be more serious action?” she asked hesitantly.
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Even so, that does not mean not reporting is the same as letting the incident just happen. RK admitted that she was actually fed up and didn’t want bad things to happen to him again.
“I am also fed up with suspicious passengers. I don’t want these incidents to happen again,” she concluded.
5.Special Modes for People with Disabilities
Besides the threat of harassment for women, another challenge in public transportation inclusivity is accessibility for people with disabilities, pregnant women, the elderly, and other priority groups.
This issue is not only about how they can get into the vehicle, but also how their journey can be done safely and comfortably.
From the results of the data analysis, 31.3% of respondents rated the accessibility of public transportation as very poor, while 27.7% rated it as poor. Only 9.6% said the accessibility was good, and 4.8% rated it excellent. This means that the majority of users feel that public transportation facilities are not friendly enough for groups with special needs.
Airin, a woman with a physical disability, moved to Jakarta in 2006, envisioning a more dynamic life. However, reality spoke differently. Her mobility was limited not only because of a spinal cord injury that required her to use a wheelchair, but also because the city was not designed for her.
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For years she could only watch from a distance as others easily hopped on and off the bus or ran to catch the train. For Airin, traveling was a gruelling series of challenges.
“If you want to go out, someone has to carry you. Not once or twice, but all the time,” she explains.
When the Trans Care service began operating, a glimmer of hope emerged. Now she could travel without having to be moved repeatedly from wheelchair to passenger seat. The sense of comfort that had only been a wishful thinking finally became real.
However, that hope was not fully fulfilled. Trans Care only operates in Jakarta, while Airin finds it difficult to move to the city borders.
“If I want to go to Bekasi or Tangerang, I have to get off at the city limits and find another vehicle. Why not extend it to Jabodetabek?” she asked disappointedly.
Another problem comes from the manual booking system. Delays, sudden cancellations, and travel uncertainty are part of his daily life.
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“Sometimes I’ve registered H-1, but suddenly it’s cancelled. I’m so confused about what other transportation to look for,” she said.
In addition, unpleasant experiences with service personnel have made her even more sceptical of the existing system. There was one time when she was asked to pay for e-toll suddenly when she arrived at the mall, something that was not informed in advance by the Trans Care operator.
“I was shocked, why didn’t the Trans Care operator tell me from the beginning when he said he could take me to the mall?” she complained.
To make matters worse, there was a Trans Care officer who had contacted her after he no longer worked there, using his contact number for personal use.
“That means my contact number is still with him, right? Well, it turned out that he had resigned, but contacted me with personal intentions, not related to Trans Care services. He offered goods or something, like that.”
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“I am worried that in the future incidents like this could lead to more serious things, such as harassment. Previously, before my accident, I had experienced harassment, so things like this are quite worrying,” she added.
Without a clear system for reporting these incidents, Airin can only remain silent. She worries that if there is no better privacy protection, something worse could happen.
“I don’t know where to report. If this continues to happen, what if in the future there is harassment?” she said, recalling her bitter experience.
Airin also highlighted the safety aspect of Trans Care, which is not fully safe for people with disabilities. From Airin’s experience, ramps and tools for stabilizing wheelchair users still have limitations. This condition makes Airin often unable to use this public facility for mobility to and from work.
“For Trans Care itself, the safety aspect is still lacking. For example, on the rear ramp, the tools to stabilize the wheelchair are still lacking. Once on the ramp and seated in the vehicle, our wheelchairs are not fully stabilized because the restraints or locks are not strong enough.”
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“Also, due to the limited number of Trans Care cars that have ramps, I often have to choose between going or going home – I can’t do both. I hope that in the future, this fleet will be increased so that it can serve round-trips,” complained Airin.
Nevertheless, Airin acknowledged that Trans Care is a good policy that must be continuously evaluated and expanded to other cities.
In Jakarta’s neighbouring city of Depok, Kirana, a woman with a wheelchair disability, complains that access to transportation is a big challenge. She still has to reach the MRT by car for the first mile (the journey from her place of origin to the mass transportation transit point) because there is no special transportation for people with disabilities.
“The MRT is quite disability-friendly, there are elevators and special lanes. But to get there? I still have to take a car,” she complained.
6.Lack of Safe Support Facilities for Priority Users
Another major obstacle that is often found is the absence of special lanes or adequate elevators, which makes it difficult for wheelchair users to access the platform or get into the vehicle.
Access to the Transjakarta bus stop in Pancoran which can only be accessed via stairs and pedestrian bridges (JPO). (Photo: Luthfi Maulana Adhari/Konde.co)
The limited number of priority seats is also a major complaint, mainly because public users often do not comply with the rules to provide seats for those in need. In addition, the unfriendly design of vehicles and bus stops for people with disabilities is still a major problem, especially for users of walkers or people with visual disabilities who require guiding blocks.
Although Kirana feels that the MRT is quite accessible for her, she is still worried because the elevator often breaks down and there is no other solution.
“If the elevator is broken, what’s the solution, we have to carry it, it’s a high risk for us,” she said.
A broken elevator at the integraCon service facility for bus stops, KRL staCons and LRT staCons in Cikoko/Cawang, East Jakarta. (Photo: Luthfi Maulana Adhari/Konde.co)
Even when the elevator is working, queuing is another challenge for people with disabilities.
“Rarely does anyone prioritize us. I have to queue as usual and often get passed over,” she said.
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She envisioned a real-time information system that could tell the condition of facilities at each station. Thus, those in need could avoid stations with problematic facilities.
In contrast to Kirana, Brian grew up in Pekanbaru with deformed legs. Since elementary school, he used to take angkot to school, but the journey was never easy.
“The distance from my house to where the angkot passes is quite far, and I have to walk. It was tiring,” he says.
When he moved to Jakarta for high school, he hoped for better facilities. However, the reality in the capital city presented him with another challenge.
“At the Transjakarta bus stop, the elevator often died. If there is a ramp, it is often too steep to use alone,” he complains.
Brian encountered similar challenges when he returned to Pekanbaru and tried to take Trans Metro.
“It’s similar to Transjakarta, but the bus stops are not disability-friendly. The ramps are too steep, slippery, and there are no handrails. Even people who can walk normally find it difficult,” he said.
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However, what often hurts him more is the attitude of his fellow passengers. Brian often doesn’t get a priority seat unless he asks for it first.
“I often ride the bus with my mom. Even though I clearly use a cane, people rarely want to give me a priority seat. If I get a seat, it’s because I asked for it first,” he says.
In addition to physical barriers, the lack of officers or assistants who can help users with disabilities is also a major complaint. When people with disabilities or the elderly need assistance, there is not always an officer on hand, which ultimately makes them have to rely on the kindness of fellow passengers. This shows that the transportation system is not really ready to serve all groups equally.
“The law already exists, but its implementation and sustainability are still lacking. Facility maintenance is often neglected, and the human resources on duty are not sufficiently trained to handle the various problems faced by the disability community and other marginalized groups,” concluded Brian.
Meanwhile, in Semarang, Patricia, a non-disabled woman who is now pursuing higher education, has a different experience in using public transportation. Since she was a child, she used to use the Trans Semarang bus for her mobility.
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However, safe and comfortable transportation options remain difficult to come by. One of the reasons is the unsafe bus stop facilities. Her elderly brother once fell between the gap between the bus stop and the bus, fracturing his leg.
“I feel, just imagine an old person falling, it must hurt a lot. And that happened to my brother, my Mbah (grandmother), who is elderly. She fell (from the bus stop) and fractured her leg,” said Patricia.
Even Patricia herself experienced a similar incident when it was raining. Despite the presence of several people and personnel, there was not a single helping hand to help Patricia.
“I once fell from a bus stop and no one helped me. So it was really raining, I was falling, no one helped at all,” she said.
It’s not just the physical problem of high bus stops, but also the in-bus facilities that are less friendly to priority groups. Patricia highlights a problem that is not only difficult for people with disabilities or the elderly, but also children, even teenagers.
“The bus inside is too high for children. So, children often fall down. When I was in junior high school, I also fell on the bus because the handle was too high and my hand didn’t reach,” she recalled.
7.Equitable Infrastructure and Systems that Ensure Security
Security and infrastructure are two of the most urgent aspects to improve in the public transportation system.
From the data obtained, 30.1% of respondents consider safety as the aspect that needs the most improvement, followed by convenience (19.3%) and bus stop or station infrastructure (28.9%).
In addition, one of the biggest problems in infrastructure is the equitable distribution of public transportation in each region.
In Lampung, for example, the challenges Septi faces are different. She does not have to worry about elevators or priority seats, as proper public transportation is almost non-existent.
“In Lampung, there is no public transportation that I can use in the city at all,” she said. He sighs before continuing, “The roads until now, if you see news about Lampung, the roads are bad. Yes, it’s bad, until now it’s also bad around where I want to go to campus, to my workplace,” she continued.
Septi lives in the suburbs, where private transportation is the main choice for most people. Septi had to adapt to this reality and find the best alternative for the often tiring journey.”
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Actually, there is a campus bus on my campus, but it’s no longer operating. Because yes, the mindset here is more towards private vehicles. They (policy makers) don’t have the mindset to provide public transportation at least for the workplace. It’s a shame, even though the potential is huge.”
“Then, if I want to go out of the city, for example, I have to use the bus and changes it couples times. So I take it from the toll road to Kota Baru, to Bakauheni. Maybe you could say that’s the only public transportation. Then I took the ferry. That was the only public transportation I used while in Lampung. It was the only public transportation I used,” Septi said.
Another infrastructure challenge she faced was not only the lack of options, but also the lack of information.
“When it comes to information, especially how to access the buses, where to get on, it’s practically lacking,” she says.
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Although there is a terminal, the system is far from the standard of other cities. He had to find out for himself, asking people, without any clear guidance from an organized system.
“At most, there are kiosks that sell some tickets. Then the buses would stop there. So I feel like I’m in a jungle, I have to ask people for information, not through information that has been structured in an IT system, for example a special website for public transportation, which is less accessible,” she complained.
Septi also highlighted the experience of paying for ferry tickets, which was difficult and not inclusive. In fact, users have to access brokers as the only way out when the ticket purchasing system is disrupted.
“If you don’t know the application, it’s a bit difficult. Because you have to pay through Indomaret or online, but there is no system from the ferry itself. So if there is an emergency or m-banking disruption, we have to buy through brokers. That also makes it difficult,” Septi said.
In areas where public transportation is not important, the situation is even more difficult for women in terms of safety. Many locations are crime-prone due to lack of lighting, especially at night.
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“During the trip, for women, the night is a bit risky. Because so far at night it is the most vulnerable. Now this is what is sometimes a bit difficult, especially if the lighting is lacking, so the security is also a little less facilitated.”
“I’m really nervous when it comes to night,” Septi explained.
For Septi, the main weakness is in the policy sector. She sees a lack of political will from the government to push for inclusive policies in the public space sector, especially public transportation.
“What must be addressed is actually comprehensive. Our main weakness is in policy,” Septi said.
Brian also emphasized this point. According to him, government accountability is a big question mark, especially considering its attention to disability. Significant budget cuts made to the National Commission on Disability make Brian even more pessimistic about improvements in the public facilities sector that are more inclusive of disabilities.
“What also needs to be addressed is accountability. From my perspective as a person with a disability, the current facilities seem to be made just to exist, not really maintained or improved.”
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“For example, the National Commission on Disability, which initially had a budget of Rp5 billion, was cut to only Rp500 million. This shows that the concern for disability is still not serious,” he complained to close the conversation.
8.Summarizing User Solutions
Looking at these challenges, there are several concrete steps that can be taken to make public transportation more inclusive and safe.
| Identification of Specific Issues from Respondents’ Experiences | |
| Central theme | Cause factors ® Direct impact ® long term impact |
| Non-inclusive infrastructure | Lack of universal design and budget for accessibility →Stations/stops are not friendly to persons with disabilities and the elderly → Vulnerable groups have difficulty using public transportation → Increased dependence on private vehicles and social exclusion |
| Sexual Harassment and Discomfort | Lack of supervision, insufficient staff, and weak sanctions →Repeated incidents of sexual harassment → Women and vulnerable groups afraid to use public transportation → Decline in the number of women and vulnerable groups using public transportation |
| Lack of Social Awareness | Lack of public education and weak culture of inclusivity →Priority seats are often not given to those who need them →Vulnerable groups have difficulty finding seats and feel disrespected → Normalization of selfish and discriminatory behavior in public transportation |
| Limitations of Technology and Complaint Systems | Manual monitoring systems and unresponsive complaint applications → Perpetrators of harassment and rule violators are difficult to detect → Complaints are often not followed up or ignored → Loss of public trust in public transportation safety |
| Non consistent policy | Weak law enforcement and lack of policy evaluation →Perpetrators of abuse and rule breakers act freely without consequences → Decreased sense of security among public transportation users → Public distrust of the government and legal system |
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| Identification of Specific Issues from Respondents’ Experiences | |||
| Central focus | Root of the problems | Systematic solution | Expected long terms impacts |
| Realizing Inclusive and Safe Public Transportation | Disability unfriendly infrastructure | Implementation of universal design in all transportation infrastructure | Increased mobility for vulnerable groups |
| Weak supervision and security systems | Improvement of gender-sensitive systems, increase in the number of officers and CCTV cameras at locations prone to harassment | Decrease in the number of sexual harassment cases | |
| Lack of Social Awareness | Massive inclusivity campaigns and education on priority rights | Increased public trust in the public transportation system | |
| Legal uncertainty | Strict penalties and transparency in harassment cases | Promoting a culture of mutual respect | |
First, increasing the number of security officers at bus stops, stations, and in vehicles should be a priority. The presence of officers will not only increase the sense of security for users, but can also be a preventive measure to reduce cases of sexual harassment.
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Second, public awareness campaigns on sexual harassment should be more massive. Currently, there are still many people who do not understand that sexual harassment is a serious form of crime. Education on how to respond and report cases of harassment must also be improved so that victims feel more confident to report the incidents they experience.
Third, accessibility for people with disabilities and the elderly must be improved, from the provision of special lanes, functioning elevators, to the availability of officers who are ready to help. Without these improvements, vulnerable groups will continue to experience barriers in using public transportation.
Finally, transportation systems must be designed with a gender and inclusivity perspective. Urban and transportation planning has tended to be based on the needs of the majority without considering groups with limited mobility. With a more inclusive approach, public transportation can truly be a means of mobility that can be accessed and used by everyone without exception.
Inclusive public transportation is not just about providing cheap and fast vehicles, but also about ensuring that every individual, without exception, can use it safely, comfortably and without fear.
It is time for transportation policy to be geared towards serving everyone, not just some.
Konde’s Team:
Coordinator: Nurul Nur Azizah
Graphic: Ardiles
Research and Data: Luthfi Maulana dan Laras Ciptaning Kinasih
Editor: Luviana Ariyanti
(Translator: Theresia Pratiwi Elingsetyo Sanubari)
