Things that make no sense - My first post about traffic

I started to write a post about all of the things that are a bit different, or annoying, or ridiculous here, but I realized that it would turn into a very long post.  Instead, I’m starting with the first thing on my list: traffic and traffic lights.

Of course, traffic lights barely exist in this city with 17 million people and 11 million vehicles (the square footage of vehicles actually exceeds the amount of road available).  A good illustration of the traffic problem can be summed up by this picture from Reuters:

I’ve seen four or five traffic lights total in my time here, and they were all at intersections where three roads meet.  At a traffic light, after the cars stop, the ojeks will continue to weave around the stopped vehicles, making a crazy line of motorbikes at the front of the light, much like this YouTube video* illustrates:

You can observe, too, that the ojeks don’t always obey the light, moving along as they see fit.  Many Indonesians see ojeks as the solution to the traffic problem, as they are always faster than driving a car due to the weaving and breaking of laws.  Ojeks will weave even when traffic is moving.  I’ve seen them drive against traffic, ride on the sidewalk, and clip pedestrians walking in the road (I’ve actually been a clipped pedestrian and have the bruise to prove it). 

As a side note, yes that is a tuk-tuk you see in the traffic to the right.  They are more common on side streets.  I’m not sure that they are allowed on the major roads, but a traffic law never stopped anyone in Jakarta.

Okay, you’re thinking.  Traffic sucks.  So what if there are no lights?  Well, there are no on-ramps, either.  You are going to be turning into (to the left, mind you) multiple lanes of traffic with no room to merge. 

The solution?  Not a light; that would take away from jobs.

Instead, see the photos of my friend below (on a pretty slow traffic day):

I’m not sure what his name is, but I’m calling him my friend because his face lights up every time he sees me.  Sometimes he has a partner at this intersection.  His job is to direct traffic.  And yes, that is a cigarette he is holding; I won’t even get into teenagers smoking here.

Basically, he is watching for cars approaching the main road.  When one pulls up, he will physically step into oncoming traffic to stop the left-hand lane and allow the vehicle to enter the road.  His hands are continuously waving the traffic along.

When I approach, he yells “Hello!” and “Taksi?” and “Blue!” because he knows that I need a taxi and I will only get into the blue ones.  Now, I can very well hail my own cab, but this is his job.  From my observations, these boys work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.

What does he get paid, you may ask?  Well, he doesn’t.  He is depending solely on tips from the drivers.  If you think that he did a good job for you, you will pass him 500 to 1,000 rupiah from your window (4 or 8 cents).  This, of course, slows traffic down even further, but I’m not getting into logic here.  I give him 1,000 rupiah for hailing my cab.  There is always a smattering of coins littered underfoot, and I am guessing that he collects these at the end of the night. 

This isn’t a post to pull at your heartstrings, even though my friend pulls at mine every time I see him.  On the contrary, he continuously wears a smile and does his job.  I guess I don’t know what kind of post this is.  I guess it’s just a post.

UPDATE:  I have confirmation from 2 Indonesian sources that the boy who directs traffic is known as "Pak ogah."

*borrowed from YouTuber Laurentiu Morariu