The Transjakarta busway is expected to provide safe and comfortable public transportation that would lure people to use these buses and leave their vehicles at home. But one of the major turnoffs for car users is the inconvenience of getting to a busway shelter from their homes. The lack of a decent feeder bus system continues to prevent car users from opting for the busway.
The idea of "park-and-ride", where one parks their vehicle close to a bus shelter and continues their trip with the busway has been raised but building new parking lots would seem such an awful waste of Jakarta's limited land.
However, the government actually has already provided facilities for park and ride. Well, sort of. For those in the know, government buildings are convenient places to park.
Parking your vehicle for the day at a government building is an economical option as you don't have to pay by the hour. In fact, in some places you don't have to pay at all. But please don't be too cheap and tip the security guard when exiting.
Parking on the side of a street with a parking attendant is also an option, but leaving your vehicle inside a building is much safer.
Those living in the southern parts of Jakarta might consider parking at the Agriculture Ministry located near Ragunan. It has spacious parking and a busway shelter for the corridor 6 Transjakarta conveniently placed right in front of the complex.
The bus ends at Dukuh Atas where you can change to the corridor 1 bus, which takes you either to Blok M or Kota passing the whole stretch of Sudirman, Thamrin and Gadjah Mada, all for a mere Rp 3,500, thank you very much!
For people coming from the east, parking options are available. After inching slowly through the morning traffic jam starting from Kampung Melayu, there are two government buildings at the end of Casablanca: the City Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) and a Directorate of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. Parking spaces at these buildings are limited but they are within walking distance to the busway shelter in front of the Health Ministry. This ministry complex actually has a large parking lot but a friend says it is always full.
If your destination is along the corridor 1 busway, and if you enjoy walking, try finding a parking spot at several government buildings close to Gambir - parking at Gambir Station uses an hourly rate, so no use parking there.
Alternatives are the PLN office or the Trade Ministry. There's also the National Gallery but perhaps is better to avoid because its parking lot is often empty and security guards may start asking you questions. The military police building next door is best avoided for obvious reasons.
Once parked around Gambir, you can reach the Bank Indonesia busway shelter on Jl. Thamrin by taking a 20-minute walk through Jl. Merdeka Selatan, Jakarta's most pedestrian-friendly street, with a wide pavement with tree shade and relatively clean air as it's rarely busy.
Another aspect making this street pedestrian-friendly is a fully functional pelican. Not the bird, but a pedestrian light-controlled crossing.
There are many reasons why this sort of park-and-ride should be given a try. Be it for simplistic reasons such as to save money by cutting fuel and parking expenses or to avoid driving in traffic gridlock and 3 in 1 zones. Or perhaps due to a more altruist cause like being a good citizen wanting to ease Jakarta's traffic by using public transport, or helping the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
So next time you're driving by a busway shelter, don't forget to look around and note down available parking options just in case you might be tempted to use them later. And I bet you will.
- Nugroho Nurdikiawan
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