EF #12: Buses & Trains

So I walked under a bus, I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love which is kinda the same
I’ve sunk out at sea, crashed my car, gone insane
And it felt so good I want to do it again

No.. this post is not about being ran over by a bus nor train *knock on wood*. But this week English friday theme ask me (or us) to talk about our daily means of transportation. And since the title of this post reminded me of one of my favorites song “Buses & Trains” by “Bachelor Girl”, I just had to post their lyric here.. LOL

Now on the serious note…

Back in Indonesia, before I moved here to Sweden, I almost never used public transportation. I was lucky that my dad trusted me to use one of his cars to drive to work, etc that I didn’t have to use angkot or buses. And since traffic jam was the sad reality that I had to face every single day, as crazy as this might sound, sometime I did enjoy it. Well not the darn-why-arent-we-moving-might-as-well-we-have-picnic-since-we’re-stuck-here-anyway kinda traffic jam. But the “normal” one (if there even such thing called normal traffic jam). I kinda like it because it gave me an alone time to release some stress by singing out loud while crying my heart out. Oooh it was soo relaxing.

That’s why when I moved here and realized that there wont be any other option except using buses and trains, I was ready to beg Bubu to buy us a car. To my surprise, the reality wasn’t that bad.

buss-swedia-01

What I love about the bus and train system here is that their website is really clear on showing us which bus or train to take, when they will arrive and at which bus stop or train station. It’s super helpful because then we can plan our trip in details down to the minutes before even stepping out the front door. The other reason is that the they always have a designated place for strollers. Makes it really convenient for people like Bubu and I who always travel with one. The fact that they are clean and well-maintained also a big plus.

But of course there’s no such thing as a perfect world and the same goes for the transportation system here too. Even though they have an exact schedule, the chances of them being late or even cancelled are also plausible. Like one time when both of us still lived in Malmö and it was winter, Bubu was on his way home from Helsingborg when the train suddenly stopped midway because of the snow was too thick for the train to pass through. In the end he had to walked along the railway to the nearest train station and took the extra buss prepared instead.

So if you ask me now, after years using mainly public transportation instead of private car, which one do I prefer, I probably would say… car.. ahahah teteup. The thing is, for me using car is still the most favorable option to go around. We don’t get restricted by (the bus or train) schedule, lot more easier if we need to go to other places along the way and more faster too. It’s just too bad that it’s so expensive to own a car here, with all the tax, insurance and maintenance fees. Especially since we live near the city center where everything is walking distance. So for now buses and trains (and sometimes rented car) are more suitable for us.

More about Bébé

An Indonesian who currently living in Helsingborg, Sweden. A wife and a mom of two cute baby girls. A gadget-freak, manga lover and k-pop listener. Has a passion for photography. Love traveling and cooking.

36 thoughts on “EF #12: Buses & Trains

  1. Puji

    Aku juga rela naik transportasi umum kalo seenak disana… Hiks

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Kalau sekarang seringnya naik aja Ji?

      Reply

  2. Evita Wijaya

    akupun juga rela naik angkot ato bus ato kereta jika keadaan indo minimal kaya di SG ngarep. hehehe.. makanya skrg walau belum ada mobil, at least punya motor, gak perlu nunggu angkot lama, dan ketemu macet. hehehe

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Aku ga bisa nyetir motor sih.. 🙁 jadi motor bukan salah satu pilihan yang bisa diandalkan deh.. Plaing mentok ngojek.. Hahaha

      Reply

  3. Cut Inong Mutia

    And I amazed with picture of the bus 🙂 Wanna ride on that bus…

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Aku jugaaa.. Hahaha.. Itu desain terbaru bus di Malmö. Baru ada disana aja dan baru 1 rute yang pake. Penasaran juga bentuk dalemnya kayak apa..

      Reply

  4. Wien

    Walaupun di dalam busway sudah ada keterangan “tempat duduk untuk ibu hamil / anak kecil / lansia”, tetap saja bangkunya akan diduduki oleh orang-orang diluar kategori tsb, bahkan banyak yang pura-pura tidur ketika dipanggil oleh petugas elusdada

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Samaaa.. Disini juga kadang gt kok Wien.. Apalagi anak2 abg ga tau aturan. Haaah

      Reply

  5. IbuDzakyFaiRaffa (@fitrianita13460)

    ga masalah ga py mobil kalau transportasi umumnya sudah kayak gitu ya

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Iya mba.. Walau aku sih tetep pingin punya mobil sendiri.. Hhahaha.. Dasar mental princess nih.. 😀

      Reply

  6. dani

    Muahahahahahahaha. You write exactly what my favorite part is from driving my own car. However, I still envy your public transportation system.

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Hahahaha.. Itu macam terapi gratis ya Dan.. Sampai di rumah udah tenang, muka ga betekuk, dll.. Hihihi
      Semoga di Jakarta juga cepet begini juga yaaa.. 🙁

      Reply

  7. Leony

    I love love love public transportation when the environment is conducive enough (such as the safety and the comfort). When I was in the States, if I didn’t have to go to the client, I usually took a bus ride from my apartment (which is on the same street with my office building, only around 2 miles away). Lots of my co-workers kinda mocked me a bit since I had a car and they thought being a consultant we had to maintain a particular image. But I didn’t care, I paid huge amount of tax and the public transportation were convenient enough for any type of workers to take them.

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      huh, really surprised with the whole mocking thing since I thought using public transport is the most common and like you said convenient way to go around. I mean here most people opted for public transport because it’s cheaper and use it regardless of their work status and I’m pretty sure they don’t mock their colleague. Really interesting comparation since both are first world countries.

      Reply

  8. Desi

    always wondering…when will we have convenient and safety public transportation like that ? huhuhuhu envyyy

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Hopefully soon Des.. One can always dream big, right?

      Reply

  9. Lidya

    Aku lagi mimpi nih seandainya di Jakarta public transportation kaya gitu enak banget

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Aamiiin.. semoga lama2 gitu juga ya mba. Kalau public transportnya rapih lebih enak pasti kemana2. :yes:

      Reply

  10. Beby

    Busnya mirip kereta shinkansen ya, Mbak.. Warnanya ijo gitu lucu.. Kepo sama dalemannya 😀

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Yang desain baru ini memang bentuknya cantik yaaa.. aku juga belum pernah nyobain nih. Selalu naik yang model lama :unsure2:

      Reply

  11. monda

    enak ya naik umum di sana..
    ngiri deh sam ketepatan waktunya
    bis di sini kan masih aja nggak tentu datangnya,

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Iya mba, jadwalnya tepat banget sampai di menitnya, terutama kereta. Kalau bus kadang suka kecepetan atau terlambat sih tergantung kondisi jalan dan penumpang. :yes:

      Reply

  12. Lia

    cukup convinient yaaa buat ibu2 yang bawa anak + stroller. kalo di Jakarta, entah mau taro mana stroller nya hehehehe

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Nah itu dia Lia.. susah juga yah buat ibu2 yang bawa anak. Soalnya berasa banget bantunya ada tempat khusus buat stroller gitu. :yes:

      Reply

  13. rangi ruru

    Lirik lagu itu…jadi ingat lagu itu lagi dah lama banget. Hehehe salah fokus ya?
    Hallo, saya lupa apa dah pernah komen sbelumnya? Biasanya silent reader aja

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Hahaha.. aku juga pas milih judulnya langsung ngubek yutub buat nyanyi2 lagi.. 😀
      Sepertinya belum pernah komen deh.. :wink2:

      Reply

  14. MrsSunshine&Butterflies

    Nice Posting, Be :good: Bravo :rose:
    Cerita ttg balada transportasi umum sepertinya beda sekali antara US, Indo dan Eropa
    Kebanyakan di US karena infrastucturenya nggak menunjang untuk public transportation, semua harus nyetir sendiri. Bikin SIM (driver licenses) atau beli mobil gampang sekali di US, terutama kalo punya decent job :yes: :yes: (finding a decent job is also fairly easy).
    Senang baca posting2 ttg transportasi di Eropa karena lebih teratur daripada di Indo :whistle:

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Makasih mba..
      Waaaaah.. ternyata di US juga ternyata ga serapih di Eropa toh? selama ini aku kira standarnya kurang lebih sama lah antara 2 benua ini.

      Reply

  15. cicianggitha

    Envy. Much.

    udah. gitu doang

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      huahahaha.. padat berisi yaaa.. :laugh:

      Reply

  16. qonita

    kalo disuruh naik bus, kereta, motor atau mobil, gw pilih motor…ga bisa nyetir bok….eh tapi mobil asik jg kalo ada sopir pribadi hihi :rockandroll:
    oh kalo subway ato bus, milih bus sih soalnya ga naik turun tangga/escalator…sayang supir bus di korea pun sama ngebutnya kayak metromini, meski ga hobi ngetem hihi :taser:
    ah jadi ingat kan dikorea itu, di bus ato di kereta suka ada kursi khusus buat manula ato anak ato buat ibu hamil..cuma kalo kursi2 itu penuh, yg masih sehat atau kuat pun ga mau ngalah tetep aja duduk sambil main hp meski dideketnya ada ibu hamil, atau orang tua… :sigh: :taser:
    jadi ingat cerita soal perbedaan planning kota di swedia ama di amerika..pas lagi ngomongin soal masak memasak nyambungnya kesana hehe :laugh:

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      kebalikan Nit.. gw ga bisa nyetir motor. ahahahaha.. lebih milih jadi penumpang aja deh. abis udah nyoba beberapa kali, nyusruk jatoh mulu.. 😀
      Walaaaah, supirnya jiwa metromini juga ternyata.. ckckck.. kirain lebih keren disana.

      Eh apa bedanya planning kota di Swedia sama di US? bagi2 dooong

      Reply

      1. qonita

        jadi kan gara2 di grup cewe angkatan ngomongin masak-memasak trs ntah kenapa jadi nyambung ke buku parenting without borders 😀 jadi ngebahas urban planningnya swedia ama amerika, gara2 ntah kenapa mungkin di US banyak picky eater dan diswedia nggak kali yak..asli sotoy yg ini :whistle:
        nah temen gw nulis begini
        kota-kota besar di Swedia didesain serba walkable. Mau kemana-mana bisa jalan (atau naik transport publik lah). Termasuk kalau mau ke supermaket beli bahan segar. Semacam indomaret and warungnya sono ICA, Coop, pasti ada di radius jalan kaki blok apartemen kita tinggal lah. Berbeda dengan kota-kota di Amerika yang tipenya urban sprawl, aka ya model2 rumah di suburb kerja di tengah kota gitu. Jauh ke mana-mana pun kudu naik mobil. Supermarket ya modelnya big box retailer. Alhasil paling seminggu sekali belanja ke Wal-Mart, buat yang males repot belinya kebanyakan ya frozen foods, or worse, processed foods. Lha itu erat banget hubungannya sama pola makan anak, karena belanja dan mengenal bahan makanan adalah bagian penting dari “food education”. Gimana mau ngarepin anak doyan tomat misal kalau bentuk asli tomat aja dia ga pernah liat, taunya udah jadi saos tomat botolan misal? ekstrim, lebay. :headspin:
        gtu deh hehe…ga paham jg Be haha

        Reply

        1. Bébé

          BUahahahaha.. ternyata bisa gitu juga ya logikanya.. :haha:
          Tapi kalo dipikir sih ya bener juga yaaa.. kalo di sini emang kemana2 walkable sih.. 3-4 km mah bagi orang sini masih dianggep deket. Lah kalo kite pan mending naik ojek kali? hahahaha

          Reply

  17. Angela

    Gue kangen naik kereta dan bus yang bersih dan reliable.

    Reply

    1. Bébé

      Semoga di Jakarta juga makin bagus ya Ngel. Kalo transjakarta gitu masih sama parahnya kah?

      Reply

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