Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Di halte utama, rekan saya membagikan pembersih tangan kepada penumpang angkot. - At the main bus stop, my colleague hands out hand cleaner to minibus passengers.

di marks a static location (at/in). Your sentence describes where the action happened, so di halte utama is correct.
ke marks movement toward a place. Use it when there’s motion: kami pergi ke halte utama.
pada is used more for time, abstract locations, or targets in formal style (e.g., pada hari Senin, pada bagian ini). Saying pada halte utama is unusual for physical location.

Why does utama come after halte? Should adjectives follow the noun?

Yes, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun in Indonesian:

halte utama (main stop), rumah besar (big house), jalan utama (main road) A few modifiers come before the noun (e.g., mantan presiden, para siswa, sang raja), but plain adjectives like utama, besar, baru go after the noun.

Is the comma after Di halte utama necessary?

It’s optional but common. When a location/time phrase is fronted for emphasis or flow, many writers insert a comma:

Di halte utama, ... Without the comma is acceptable in informal writing. In careful prose, the comma improves readability.

What’s the nuance difference between rekan saya, teman saya, rekan kerja saya, and kolega saya?

rekan saya: neutral/formal “my associate/colleague,” often used in professional contexts.
rekan kerja saya: explicitly “my coworker,” the clearest if you mean a colleague at work.
teman saya: “my friend,” general and everyday; may or may not be a colleague.
kolega saya: “my colleague,” formal/borrowed term; common in written or formal speech. If you mean a workplace colleague, rekan kerja saya or kolega saya is unambiguous.

Why membagikan and not membagi or mendistribusikan here?

Base root: bagi = divide/split.
membagi = to divide something into parts: membagi kue (cut a cake).
membagikan = to distribute/give out something to people: membagikan pembersih tangan kepada penumpang.
mendistribusikan = “to distribute” (more formal/technical). Your sentence is about handing out to multiple recipients, so membagikan fits best and sounds natural.

Can I say membagi pembersih tangan kepada penumpang angkot instead?

Many Indonesians do say that, and it will be understood. However, careful usage prefers:

membagi for dividing into parts,
membagikan for distributing to recipients. For clear and idiomatic Indonesian, use membagikan ... kepada ... here.

Could I use memberi/memberikan instead of membagikan?

memberi can take the recipient directly: memberi penumpang angkot pembersih tangan, or use kepada: memberi pembersih tangan kepada penumpang angkot.
memberikan requires the thing as the direct object: memberikan pembersih tangan kepada penumpang angkot. Avoid memberikan penumpang angkot pembersih tangan.
membagikan emphasizes distributing to multiple people. If that nuance matters, keep membagikan; otherwise memberikan works fine.

Do I need kepada before penumpang angkot? Can I drop it?

With membagikan, yes, you should keep kepada to mark the recipients:

Correct: membagikan pembersih tangan kepada penumpang angkot
Incorrect/odd: membagikan pembersih tangan penumpang angkot (sounds like “distribute passenger hand sanitizer”) The preposition keeps the roles clear.

Can the order be changed to put the recipients earlier?

Inside the clause, Indonesian normally keeps the thing first, then the recipient phrase:

Natural: membagikan pembersih tangan kepada penumpang angkot You can front the recipient phrase for topicalization with a comma:
Kepada penumpang angkot, rekan saya membagikan pembersih tangan. But membagikan kepada penumpang angkot pembersih tangan sounds awkward.

kepada vs ke vs sama for recipients—what’s the difference?

kepada: standard/formal for recipients (people/organizations). Safest choice in writing.
ke: primarily for movement to places; in everyday speech people often use it for recipients too, but it’s less formal: membagikan ... ke penumpang.
sama: very colloquial “to/with”: ngasih sanitizer sama penumpang. In your sentence, kepada is the best fit.

Does penumpang mean plural here? Should I add para?

Indonesian doesn’t require plural marking; penumpang can be singular or plural from context. If you want to explicitly emphasize plurality:

para penumpang (angkot) = the passengers as a group (more formal).
Or use quantifiers: banyak/semua penumpang angkot. Reduplication (penumpang-penumpang) is possible but sounds heavy in modern usage.

What exactly is angkot, and should it be capitalized?

angkot = angkutan kota, a city minibus/shared taxi common in many Indonesian cities. It’s a common noun, so lowercase. penumpang angkot = people riding those minibuses. In some regions you’ll also hear mikrolet for a similar vehicle.

Is pembersih tangan the usual term? What about hand sanitizer or antiseptik?

All are used:

pembersih tangan: neutral Indonesian, fine in writing.
hand sanitizer / sanitizer: very common in everyday speech and ads.
antiseptik tangan / cairan antiseptik: more technical-sounding. Avoid pencuci tangan if you mean gel/alcohol sanitizer; that suggests hand soap.

How would I say this in the passive voice?

Two natural options:

Patient-focused: Pembersih tangan dibagikan kepada penumpang angkot oleh rekan saya.
Recipient-focused: Para penumpang angkot diberi pembersih tangan oleh rekan saya. You can drop oleh rekan saya if the agent is obvious or unimportant.

How is possession shown in rekan saya? Could I use -ku?

Possessive pronouns typically follow the noun: rekan saya, teman saya. With aku, you’ll often see the clitic:

rekanku / temanku (= my colleague/friend), common in informal style. Both rekan saya and rekanku are correct; rekan saya feels more neutral/formal.

Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky words here?

Approximate syllables (Indonesian has even stress):

halte: HAL-tə (final e like a schwa)
rekan: rə-KAN
membagikan: məm-ba-GEE-kan (hard g as in go)
pembersih: pəm-bər-SIH (pronounce the final h)
angkot: ANG-kot (ng as in sing)
kepada: kə-PA-da