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tate-owned construction company Adhi Karya will provide shuttle buses to connect residents in Greater Jakarta to the planned light rail transit (LRT) stations in a bid to reduce the use of private vehicles.

The shuttle bus service will connect residents in six areas, namely Eastern Green Bekasi (16.9 hectares), Royal Sentul Park Bogor (14.8 ha), Jaticempaka (5.1 ha), West Boutique Bekasi (0.47 ha), Cikoko (1.2 ha) and Ciracas (11.5 ha), to the nearest LRT stations or other bus terminals. The six areas are called LRT cities as they consist of residential and commercial areas that are integrated with the LRT project.

“We are collaborating with Perum PPD for shuttle bus procurement so people who live in the areas have alternatives for public transportation,” Adhi Karya president director Budi Harto recently said.

The price of the ticket for the shuttle bus will be low, said Perum PPD president director Pande Putu Yasa.

The company also plans to sell a single trip ticket that combines fares for both the shuttle bus and LRT for passengers who wish to continue their trip with the LRT.

“Therefore, passengers do not have to buy tickets twice and that will be helpful,” Pande said.

While the development of the LRT cities in Eastern Green Bekasi and Royal Sentul Park Bogor has begun, the other four locations are still waiting to get their development permits, said Adhi Karya’s transit oriented development (TOD) and hotel department general manager, Amrozi Hamidi.

“Eastern Green Bekasi started developed in August 2016. Currently, we have completed 38 percent of the apartments and 100 percent of the shop houses,” Amrozi said.

As for Royal Sentul Park Bogor, Adhi Karya is currently finishing the construction of the shop houses while waiting for the permits to construct apartment blocks there.

In total, the six LRT cities will occupy 50 ha of land with investment of Rp 12 trillion (US$900 million) obtained from the company’s equity funds and also bank loans. The LRT cities will have apartment blocks, shop houses, office buildings, hotels and supporting facilities for LRT such as the shuttle bus.

Adhi Karya will single-handedly develop five of the six cities, while the one in Ciracas, East Jakarta, will be developed by both Adhi Karya and Perum PPD as the latter owns 5.3 ha of land in the area.

The development of the LRT cities is estimated to go on for 10 years.

Besides the LRT cities, Adhi Karya will also carry out the LRT project, which is set to open up in 2019.

“I assure you the physical construction of the project will be complete in 2018 and its operations will commence in 2019,” Budi said.

The LRT is being constructed 24 hours a day in three shifts of working groups to speed up the construction, Budi said, adding that the project’s financial problems had also been resolved.

He said the government, through state capital injections, had spent Rp 2 trillion on the project from its Rp 9 trillion commitment, while Adhi Karya had spent about Rp 1.4 trillion from its internal funds.

The first phase of the LRT covers Cibubur-Cawang, Bekasi Timur-Cawang and Cawang-Dukuh Atas, while the second phase covers Cibubur-Bogor, Dukuh Atas-Palmerah-Senayan and Palmerah-Grogol.