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ransjakarta'€™s integrated bus service, connecting the elite Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) housing complex to Transjakarta corridors, has yet to sufficiently attract its targeted market, but residents have said that they want to try the buses out and perhaps use them regularly.

Launched in February, the service, called the BKTB, connects the high-end housing complex in North Jakarta to the National Monument (Monas) bus shelter in Central Jakarta.

A BKTB bus conductor, Rino Ardiansa, said the number of passengers had increased since the service was launched, but the buses were still half empty. '€œThe number of passengers fluctuates unpredictably,'€ Rino said.

The route is the first of 20 planned routes that will connect housing complexes, many tony ones like Pondok Indah in South Jakarta, to Transjakarta corridors. The city administration launched the BKTB to encourage residents to leave their private vehicles at home and use public transportation.

One BKTB regular is Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama, who uses the service to travel to work every Friday, which is a no-car day for the administration'€™s public officials.

Rino said that on average, the number of passengers on each of the 18 35-seater buses on a weekday only totaled about eight to 10 per trip. That number increases to around 30 on the weekends.

He said the low passenger numbers were probably due to many people not knowing about the buses'€™ operation.

'€œMany people still don'€™t know the routes or fares, and the stops where they can get on and off the buses,'€ he said to The Jakarta Post.

On one Wednesday, a BKTB bus left a stop in front of the Bywalk Mall & Apartments in Pluit, North Jakarta, with only nine people onboard. Another bus behind it was carrying only four passengers.

Another bus conductor, Rianda Gumilang, said that some PIK residents had ridden on the BKTB buses to learn their routes, although they did not use them on a daily basis.

Sonia, a mother of two who lives in Bywalk, said she knew about the BKTB service and planned to try it along with her husband and children on the weekend.

'€œI want to take my children so they get some experience in using public transportation,'€ she said. For daily trips, she said she still preferred taxis or driving, although if the tryout was a success she would consider taking the bus regularly.

Severe traffic congestion in the area also provides some hope for the BKTB buses. William, a teenage passenger who usually drives his own vehicle, said he often left his car and motorbike at home and took the bus instead, to avoid the horrendous traffic.

'€œI can'€™t deal with the traffic congestion [if I drive my own vehicle],'€ he said. (ask)