The most important innovation in my life in Bandung

For me, the most important innovation in my everyday’s life in Bandung is the Angkot. Angkots are small minibuses and known as the cheapest public transportation in Indonesia.

The origin of the name ‘Ankot’ is comes from angukutan=transport and kota=city.

In English this is pronounced ‘un-caught’. The minibus has either an entry and exit door on the left, or at the back. This transport has a long seat and not-so-long one, facing sideways and each other. The long one, decent enough for the Asian physique, can accommodate seven people, while the other one accommodates five. Besides, the most comfortable and safest seat is usually next to the driver. Based on my own experience I can tell that 13 people can easily fit into an Angkot.

Angkots in Bandung have all kinds of different colours like green, yellow, blue and pink. Sometimes, they even have a combination of two different colours. The colours tell the route, the minibus is driving.

KIRI is the most important thing to know when taking a ride in an Angkot. Kiri, which is pronounced ‘kee-ree’ means in Indonesian language ‘left’ or ‘stop here’. If you would like to enter an Angkut, just raise your hand if one is passing by.

As I mentioned before, the Angkot is the cheapest public transportation in Indonesia, but it has no fixed fare. The fare depends on how far you travel.

In my opinion the Angkot is the most important innovation in my life in Bandung, because without riding these minibuses, I would not get to all the wonderful locations in the city.