The city will have four major mass transportation systems — the MRT, the bus rapid transit (BRT), the light rapid transit and the airport railway line — converging in Dukuh Atas, Central Jakarta.

“We know that we need integration, but the relevant agencies have yet to initiate any meetings regarding this issue,” assistant to the governor for transportation, Sutanto Suhodo, told The Jakarta Post last week.

The official was referring to the transportation agency, the Jakarta Asset and Financial Management Body (BPKAD) and the spatial planning agency.

MRT operator PT MRT Jakarta has proposed the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD) to help manage the integration.

It has also requested that City Hall create a strong legal basis in the form of a gubernatorial regulation for its execution.

The regulation would determine the agency responsible for managing the TOD.

“We have not decided anything,” Sutanto said, “It could be a city-owned company or other entities. The point is we want a good one,” he said.

MRT Jakarta has designed the hub in Dukuh Atas, but the city administration has yet to approve the proposal.

The company claims it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with several building owners in the downtown area to connect their underground spaces to the MRT.

But the city administration and the City Council have yet to start deliberating a draft regional bylaw on underground spatial planning.

Transportation agency head Andri Yansyah says the TOD is his biggest task this year. “We will discuss and finalize the plan soon,” he said.

The MRT will connect Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

It will have above ground and underground stations and will look to serve 173,000 passengers per day. With a capacity of 1,500 passengers per trip, the MRT system is expected to effectively reduce congestion in the capital.

The project is expected to be completed next year.

MRT president director William P. Sabandar said it was important for the city administration to issue a gubernatorial regulation on the TOD soon.

“We cannot work without a legal basis while some of the projects are almost complete,” he said, adding that his company had proposed the business plan and the master plan. “We are even preparing the detailed engineering design [DED],” he said.

He added that his side had also been holding talks with the central government through the Greater Jakarta Transportation Agency (BPTJ) and the Transportation Ministry.

William said many companies along the 16-kilometer MRT corridor, especially the 6-km underground portion from the traffic circle in Central Jakarta to Senayan in South Jakarta had conveyed their interest in connecting their buildings to the MRT stations.

(Read also: Jakartans lack access to decent public transportation: Report)

“We will soon arrange the interconnectivity and the cooperation scheme with these companies, both private and state-owned,” he said.

The chairwoman of the Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ), Ellen Tangkudung, said discussion on the integration had commenced late. “The council suggested the integration two years ago,” she said.

Ellen said the infrastructure and operation of the TOD should be completed in line with the completion of the transportation projects.

“Hence, the operation will be maximized,” she said.

Ellen also urged the city to start preparing human resources and an integration ticketing system.

Another project to be completed is the airport railway in the middle of the year.

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