Making Peace with Distance and Minimal Facilities

The government and the private sector not only need to provide facilities for low-income people to buy a house, but also have to provide public transport access and adequate public facilities.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

A simple house under construction in the housing area of the integrated city of Citra Maja Raya, Lebak, Banten, Tuesday (24/4/2018). Kota Baru Maja is designed to follow areas based on mass transportation such as the commuter line.

The location of his residential area in Maja, Lebak regency, Banten is about 75 kilometers from his office but the long distance does not discourage Bondan (31) from buying there because he believes the area will become a new city in the future.

Traveling by commuter train for two hours, he can easily reach his office in Tebet, South Jakarta. However, when the number of commuter train passengers was limited during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bondan had no other option but to travel 150 kilometers or for about five hours by motorcycle.