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n a bid to create a more integrated public transportation system in the capital, PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) is planning to build more bus shelters located near railway stations.

Transjakarta service and business development director Welfizon Yuza said on Monday that the bus operator had recently built several bus shelters near railway stations including Palmerah Station in West Jakarta and Tebet and Cawang stations, both in South Jakarta.

“We believe that the integration needs to be strengthened, so we will establish bus stops near Tanah Abang Station [in Central Jakarta] and Kalibata Station [in South Jakarta] within a month,” Welfizon said.

The city administration, along with transportation operators, are trying to improve the image of the capital’s public transportation as uncomfortable, inadequate and disorganized.

Serving 850,000 and 370,000 passengers every day, respectively, KRL operator PT Kereta Commuter Jabodetabek and Transjakarta are seen as the backbone of the city’s public transportation system. However, integrating the two transportation modes remains a challenging task.

Aditya Dwi Laksana of the Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ) said that while the council recognized the improvements made by Transjakarta and KRL to date, the two bodies needed to strengthen their coordination to ensure better service.

For example, he said, passengers getting off the train at Cawang Station had to navigate Jl. MT Haryono, a thoroughfare packed with street vendors, to get to Cikoko Transjakarta bus stop.

“Integration could entail building a bridge to connect the two, or Transjakarta could deploy feeder buses to pick up passengers from the station,” Aditya said.

While the connectivity of some railway stations and Transjakarta bus stops needs immediate improvement, he said, other areas could serve as models for integration, such as Jakarta Kota Station in West Jakarta.

The width of the sidewalk that connects passengers from the railway station to nearby bus shelters, he said, is sufficient, adding that the city administration had done well in acting firmly against the street vendors that once impeded passage in the area.

He added that there were six areas where Transjakarta and KRL needed to improve their cooperation, given the areas’ high passenger volume: Pasar Senen and Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, Kalibata and Kebayoran in South Jakarta, Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta and Grogol in West Jakarta.

Separately, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said it was important for Transjakarta to not only focus on serving passengers on its lanes but also to study commuters’ final destinations

“We should take the passengers as close as possible to their destinations,” he said.

He added that the city administration would focus on improving Transjakarta services to resolve worsening congestion in the capital, but emphasized that he would not add to the current 13 corridors.

“We used to think that we should focus on the number of corridors, but we were wrong. We should focus on the route and understand people’s destinations.”