NAIK CITY CAT BRISBANE ( Part 1)

 

            Pernahkah anda pegawai kantoran membayangkan berangkat dan pulang kerja dengan menggunakan angkutan perahu atau kapal ? Beberapa tahun yang lalu di Jakarta pernah diwacanakan adanya angkutan sungai sehingga diadakanlah perahu yang melayani penumpang di Sungai Banjir Kanal Barat. Tapi apa daya, budaya menjaga kebersihan warga Jakarta dengan tidak membuang sampah secara sembarangan ke sungai belumlah tercipta. Alhasil perahu sering kali mesinnya mati gara-gara baling-baling tersangkut sampah. Belum lagi debit airnya yang menyusut drastis saat musim kemarau. Dan kini impian angkutan sungai yang nyaman sebagai salah satu solusi mengurangi kemacetan di Jakarta pupuslah sudah.



Seorang karyawati menyandarkan kapal city cat di dermaga Bretts Wharf, Brisbane (A woman employee leaned city cat at the jetty of Bretts Wharf, Brisbane)
 

              Di Brisbane, Negara bagian Queensland Australia telah lama warganya menggunakan kapal sebagai sarana transportasi massal yang nyaman disamping kereta api dan Bus. Tepatnya sejak tahun 1996 dengan jumlah armada sebangak 30 buah kapal. Penulis sendiri lebih sering menggunakan sarana transportasi kapal baik City Cat maupun City Ferry dibanding alat transportasi lainnya dikarenakan pemandangan kota Brisbane yang indah dilihat dari kapal terutama saat melintasi Story Bridge, view gedung yang menjulang tinggi, ataupun menikmati gemerlap lampu kota Brisbane di malam hari. Tidak perlu menunggu lama untuk naik ke atas kapal, karena tiap 10 menit sekali ada City Cat yang bersandar di dermaga untuk menaik turunkan penumpang.


City Cat saat melewati Story Bridge (City Cat passes through The Story Bridge)

      
             



















       Walaupun kapasitas penumpang kapal sampai 162 penumpang, pada saat jam masuk kantor maupun pulang kantor penumpang masih harus rela mengantre. Tarifnya pun murah, dari 2 AUS$ - 6 AUS$ sekali jalan tergantung jarak yang ditempuh dan banyaknya zone yang dilewati. Banyak karyawan berdasi, mahasiswa, maupun masyarakat umum mempergunakan alat transportasi kapal tersebut dikarenakan pusat bisnis, perkantoran, universitas, taman kota, museum, sampai wheel of Brisbane di Southbank  terletak di tepian sungai. Meskipun airnya berwarna kuning agak keruh, tapi praktis tidak terlihat sampah di sungai sehingga masyarakatpun menggunakannya untuk bermain Cano, mendayung ataupun memancing. Tampak di pinggir sungai lintasan (track) yang biasa digunakan untuk berolahraga jogging atau bersepeda.

Pemandangan kota Brisbane di malam hari (Brisbane city view at the night)

Di sepanjang sungai brisbane banyak terdapat galangan kapal, baik skala kecil maupun menengah. Kapal City Cat yang memiliki kecepatan maksimum 25 knots merupakan salah satu produk asli negeri kanguru hasil karya Norman R. Wright & Sons Pty Ltd yang terletak di Bulimba, Brisbane. Dengan bentuk kapal Catamaran, yaitu dua lambung kapal disambung paralel dengan sebuah dek, menjadikan kapal tersebut bisa bergerak lebih cepat dan nyaman bagi penumpang karena stabil diterpa gelombang air. Itulah makanya dinamakan City Cat karena Cat merupakan kependekan dari Catamaran, bukan kucing. Sama seperti pesawat terbang, di setiap kapal City Cat juga diberikan nama yang berasal dari bahasa Aborigin seperti Kurilpa, Binkinba, Kuluwin, maupun Gootcha.

Seandainya saja kapal jenis Catamaran tersebut dipakai di Indonesia seperti untuk mengangkut penumpang yang ingin berwisata ke kepulauan seribu tentu akan semakin menarik minat wisatawan berkunjung ke sana. Bahkan bisa jadi akan seperti pariwisata di Maldives (Maladewa). Saat ini kalau kita lihat angkutan pariwisata dari muara angke menuju kepulauan seribu sungguh sangat memprihatinkan. Manusia berjejalan di lantai kapal tanpa dibatasi jumlahnya serta hanya ada beberapa pelampung (Life vest). Beberapa kali mesin kapal mati karena baling-baling tersangkut tambang maupun sampah di teluk Jakarta. Untungnya crew kapal jago berenang dan menyelam untuk mengambil sampah dari baling-baling. Tapi tetap saja kita sebagai penumpang yang tidak bisa berenang merasa deg-degan terombang-ambing di lautan menunggu mesin menyala kembali.

 

Di atas City Cat dengan pemandangan gedung perkantoran Brisbane (View of Brisbane office building visible from City Cat)

              Berwisata di kota Brisbane serasa kita berada di Puncak dikarenakan suhunya yang hanya 14^oC. Kotanya sangat bersih dengan arsitektur bangunan mirip di eropa. Kalau dibilang nenek moyang bangsa Australia dari eropa ada benarnya juga. Trotoarnya benar-benar bersih serta berfungsi sebagaimana mestinya untuk tempat berjalan kaki dan tidak terlihat adanya pedagang kaki lima berjualan seperti di Jakarta. Terlihat seorang seniman berpose seperti patung dengan kostum putih dan sekujur tubuh dicat dengan warna putih membawa patung anjing yang berwarna putih pula. Di depannya terdapat kotak untuk menerima uang receh dari pengunjung setelah berfoto bersama. Ternyata banyak juga hasil yang diterima dengan mencari uang berpose layaknya sebuah patung tersebut apalagi kalau dirupiahkan.


Pemandangan sudut kota di King George Square (Corner street view from King George Square)

  
          Satu hal yang sebaiknya jangan dicontoh dari Brisbane adalah masalah pornografi. Majalah pria dewasa seperti “Playboy” dengan mudahnya bisa kita dapatkan di kios-kios kecil di pinggir jalan. Bahkan yang membuat penulis menggelengkan kepala adalah adanya “Topless Barber Shop” alias tukang potong rambut cewek yang memotong rambut pelanggannya dengan bertelanjang dada di George Street. Bisa dipastikan pelanggannya lelaki semua yang ingin cuci mata. Wah, kalau di Indonesia salon tersebut bisa langsung dikepung FPI atau Satpol PP.

( Bersambung )

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ONBOARD BRISBANE CITY CAT (Part 1)

Have you ever imagined office employees going to work and coming back home using public transportation boat or ship? A few years ago in Jakarta once initiated for river transport so passenger boat were provided on the West Banjir Kanal river. But unfortunately, the culture of Jakarta residents to maintain cleanliness by not carelessly throw garbage into the river has not been created. Consequently boat engine often die because the propeller snagged trash. Not to mention the water level which shrank drastically during the dry season. And now the dream of a comfortable river transport as one of the solutions to reduce traffic jam in Jakarta already disappeared.

In Brisbane, State of Queensland in Australia, citizens have been using the ship as a convenient means of public transportation in addition to train and bus since long time ago. Precisely since 1996 with current fleet of 30 ships. The writer himself more frequently used means of transport ship either City Cat or City Ferry compared to other means of transportation because of the beautiful views of the Brisbane city seen from the boat, especially when crossing the Story Bridge, view of tower buildings, or enjoy the sparkling lights of Brisbane city at the night. No need to wait so long to step on the ship, because every 10 minutes there is City Cat at the jetty to carry passenger.

Although passenger capacity up to 162 passengers aboard, during office hours or come back home from office passengers must still willing to queue. The price was cheap, from 2 AUS $ - AUS $ 6 each way depending on the distance and the number of zones bypassed. Many employees wearing tie, students, and the citizens using the means of transportation of the ship due to the business center, offices, universities, parks, museums, until the wheel of Brisbane at Southbank is located on the riverside. Although the water is yellow somewhat turbid, but no trash visible in the river so citizens use it for canoeing, paddling or fishing. The tracks are available at the riverside tracks which is used for jogging or cycling.

Along the Brisbane river there are many shipyards, both small and medium scale. City Cat ship which has a maximum speed of 25 knots is one of the original product of kangaroos land (Australia) produced by Norman R. Wright & Sons Pty Ltd located in Bulimba, Brisbane. The shape of the vessel is Catamaran, which is double hull connected paralelly with a deck, making the ship can move faster and convenient for passengers because of the stability againts the waves. That is why the so-called City Cat for Cat is Catamaran in abbreviation, not a cat (animal). Just like the airplane, in every City Cat ship also given the name which comes from the Aboriginal language such as Kurilpa, Binkinba, Kuluwin, and Gootcha.

If only the Catamaran Ship type used in Indonesia to carry passengers who want to travel to a thousand islands (Kepulauan Seribu) will certainly attract more tourists to visit there. It could even be going like tourism in the Maldives. Currently if we see tourism transport from the jetty Muara Angke to thousand islands indeed very alarming. Human crammed on the floor of the ship without being limited in number and there are only a few buoys (life vest). Several times the ship's engine died due to propeller snagged mine and garbage in Jakarta bay. Fortunately the crew are expert swimmers and divers so it is not difficult to pick up trash from the propeller. But, we as passengers who can not swim still feel worried in the ocean waiting for the engine restarts.

Travelling in the city of Brisbane looked like we were in Puncak Bogor due to the temperature which is only 14^oC. The city is very clean with the architecture of the building similar in Europe. If you say the ancestors of Australia came from Europe maybe it’s true. The sidewalk was really clean and proper for a walk also no street vendors seen like in Jakarta. At crowd, an artist posing as a statue wearing white costumes and the whole body is painted in white with the statue of a white dog too. In front of him a box to receive a dime from visitors after taking pictures together. Apparently many money received by posing like a statue especially if exchanged to rupiahs.

One thing that should not be emulated from Brisbane is the freedom of pornography. We can get adult men's magazines like "Playboy" easily in small stalls on the roadside. Also, the thing that makes the writer shook his head was the "topless Barber Shop" aka a bare-chested girl cutting customers hair in George Street. Surely all the customers are men who wanted to entertain their eyes. Well, if in Indonesia that saloon can be directly surrounded by FPI or municipal police (Satpol PP).

 (To Be Continued)