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Do not ditch Transjakarta, experts say
Transjakarta is the capital’s most effective mass transportation system for curbing traffic congestion despite its resource and infrastructure problems, experts said Tuesday
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Transjakarta is the capital’s most effective mass transportation system for curbing traffic congestion despite its resource and infrastructure problems, experts said Tuesday.
Mike Co from the Clean Air Initiative (CAI) for Asian cities said Jakarta’s busway system could be a model for other cities in Asia.
“Jakarta is one of the pioneers for a bus rapid transit [BRT] in Asia,” Co told The Jakarta Post.
“It has an opportunity to show how such a system can work. Transjakarta is actually a model for other cities to emulate.
“The city should not abandon the Transjakarta. The concept itself is not bad, but it is the way you implement it,” he said.
“What the government can do is get behind the Transjakarta system and find ways to improve it.
“It’s a goal to solve the air quality problem in the city because people are not relying on private vehicle as they prefer to use public transport.”
The administration needs to improve Transjakarta buses facilities to attract more passengers, he said.
“[Take] the bus stations [shelters], for instance,” he said. “During my visit in Jakarta, I see that the stations are very simple.
“A BRT expert from Bogota used to say, ‘The stations have to be classy, you have to put some colors’.
“The point is you have to encourage people to take the bus.”
Waty Suhadi from the Swisscontact Indonesia Foundation said Transjakarta was a good start to reducing air pollution.
“Jakarta needs a good mass transportation to ease traffic,” Waty said.
“So, Transjakarta bus is the best option for today, since it is practical and fits with the city’s budget.”
She urged the administration to be consistent in providing busway passengers with good services.
The Transjakarta system has been riddled with problems, even before it launched in 2004.
Public transportation passengers have filed many complaints about the service.
Most complaints are about crowded bus shelters, damaged buses or shelters, and delays to the three new corridors — 8, 9 and 10.
The three corridors have missed their deadlines several times due to the absence of buses.
After months of delay, Transjakarta operator announced last week that it would run the new Lebak Bulus-Harmoni route by Feb. 14.
The new corridor will only operate 20 buses, down from 45 buses previously required to comply with the five-minute headway time.
The 20 buses to run along Corridor 8 are reassigned buses from the seven existing corridors.
Besides the lack of vehicles, an unresolved problem on fees festers between Transjakarta and the consortium operating the corridors.
The conflict began when the administration opened a tender to procure buses for corridors 4 to 7.
Many experts have suggested Transjakarta be separated from the transportation agency to grant it more power to manage the system.
