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Who at one time or another has not cursed at motorcyclists or wished they had wings and would just fly off Jakarta’s roads?

Favored by tens of millions of Indonesians nationwide, this vehicle, referred to by many as a coffin on two wheels, battles for road space in every way imaginable against private cars and public transport on a daily basis.

Morning or evening, they swarm across Jakarta, Bogor, Bekasi, Depok and Tangerang like massive groups of ants hunting out sugar.

They are loathed by pedestrians and motorists, but any motorcycle rider will tell you that traffic rules are broken everyday by all motorists. For the bikers themselves, motorcycles are the ultimate savior from choking traffic.

Not a single motorcyclist interviewed recently by the Globe has said they would prefer taking public buses or trains instead of their two-wheelers. They pointed out they would rather be in debt for years, paying loans off slowly to own a motorcycle, rather than use public transport.

Neneng Zubaidah, a 27-year-old Jakartan, rides her second-hand Suzuki Satria, which she bought for Rp 12 million ($1,300).

This is her second motorcycle, having sold off her Honda Revo that she paid for in monthly installments of Rp 890,000 for a year and a half. Neneng says her motorcycle is her like her “boyfriend because he can always be depended on to get me anywhere I want.”

“My job requires me to be mobile. Buses are useless because traffic is crazy. I once had hopes for the busway but I had to wait so long at the shelters just to be jammed in with the rest of the crowd,” Neneng said.

“I sometimes go with my friend by car. But the comfort of air-conditioning is nothing compared to a motorcycle’s speed and mobility.”

A motorbike, to college graduate Bima Dwi Satria, means freedom.

“After getting full time work, I got myself a Honda Tiger,” the 23-year-old resident of Ciledug said. “I take pride in owning my own vehicle.”

Bima is still in his first year of paying off his bike in installments of Rp 700,000 a month.

“A motorcycle allows me to find alternative routes, through small lanes and alleys, which you can’t do with a car,” Bima said. “Particularly if I’m stuck in total traffic on the way to work from Ciledug [Tangerang] to Jakarta and vice versa.

“During the worst jams, I become a bit of a daredevil,” he said, adding that he was among those thousands guilty of riding on busway lanes.

“If some alley or road happens to jammed, I just ride on the wrong side of the road. I know it’s dangerous because of the on-coming vehicles bearing down on me, but that’s the way to get somewhere fast.”

Muhammad Abdul Rossi, a 49-year-old ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, warned people against blaming motorcycles for Jakarta’s traffic.

“The buses are what cause traffic jams, not us. Particularly when they stop in the middle of the road. An ojek is very maneuverable and can take the really narrow alleys, so we’re not responsible for jams. We make things easier for people,” Abdul said.

Administrations in Bogor and Depok have said that of about six million people living across the two areas, a third of them depend on the motorcycle for their daily activities, most of which are conducted in Jakarta.

South Bogor resident Fauzan, 29, said he traveled by motorcycle between Bogor and Jakarta every day and it only took Rp 20,000 to fuel up his bike each day.

“I work for a courier service company in Lebak Bulus [South Jakarta]. Rp 20,000 gets me about 4.4 liters of Premium [gasoline] and this means more than four hours on the road at 40 kilometers per hour. That’s a good deal for me,” Fauzan said.

“I have to be in my office at 9 a.m. sharp. I leave my home in Batu Tulis, South Bogor, at 5:30 a.m. so I don’t get stuck in traffic. If I get up late, then I get stuck at the Citeurep market intersection, in Lenteng Agung. The worst traffic, however, is in Cilandak [South Jakarta].”

He did acknowledge that a motorcycle was uncomfortable and dangerous when it rained.

“The roads become filled with puddles — some of them unexpectedly deep — and that’s hell for a motorcyclist.”

He used to take economy class trains, but they kept arriving later and later.

“I once waited two hours for a train and didn’t reach my office until 10:30 a.m. — that’s not good.”

Tata, a 52-year-old civil servant from Bandung, said he hated taking the train to work because it also meant having catch a bus and then a public minivan.

“I used to arrive at the office worn out,” Tata said. “Not good especially if there was an early morning briefing,” “

Changing transport three times in a single one-way commute end up costing him Rp 20,000 a day, he said.

“A motorcycle only sets me back Rp 20,000 for the whole week.”

Tata admitted to breaking traffic rules but said he had never hurt anyone or damaged other vehicles.

“I paid Rp 3 million up front for my bike, plus Rp 552,000 each month for 32 months,” he said.

A culinary businesswoman, Ratu Adelin, 31, said that even if it rained while she was on her motorbike, it did not matter.

“I’ve been in an accident. But I don’t care about the rain. I’ve got my raincoat and that’s all there is to it.”

Joseph, a 26-year-old communications student in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, said that because he lived in Sentul, Bogor, the only way to reach class on time was by motorcycle.

He said he used to be a fan of buses but the time he spent sweating on the packed vehicles convinced him to switch to a motorbike.

He said he had just finished paying off his Rp 13 million Yamaha Zupiter Z. “I paid Rp 600,000 a month for 35 months,” he said. “But it was completely worth it. No bus can beat my motorcycle.”