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2019: The new era of public transportation in Jakarta
With more options available, more people in Greater Jakarta use public transportation for their daily commutes.
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Passengers board an MRT train at Dukuh Atas station, Central Jakarta, heading to Lebak Bulus station, South Jakarta, on July 11. (JP/Valerie Halim)
T
his year has brought the next generation of public transportation to the capital with the opening of the Jakarta MRT and other innovations to reduce traffic in the city.
The first line of the MRT, which links Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle in Central Jakarta, has become the most popular new mode of transportation. Commuters and tourists have flocked to it daily.
The enthusiasm has been sustained since the line’s first day of operation on March 23. From March 24 to Nov. 26, The Jakarta MRT said it had served a total of 19.9 million passengers, with an average of 83,516 passengers daily and a record of 93,165 passengers in one day.
Financially, the company seems to be doing well, in spite of heavy government subsidies. It booked Rp 60 billion (US$ 4.2 million) in profit from over Rp 1 trillion in revenue. The revenue came from ticketing at Rp 180 billion, non-ticket revenue at Rp 225 billion, subsidies at Rp 560 billion and miscellaneous revenue such as bank interest at Rp 40 billion.
The first line of the MRT spanned 15.7 kilometers and cost Rp 14.3 trillion. The central government is covering 49 percent of the construction cost while the remaining 51 percent is covered by loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The MRT is currently constructing its second line from HI traffic circle, consisting of seven stations over more than 7.8 km to Ancol, North Jakarta, costing Rp 22.5 trillion.
The MRT is not the only new rail in town. The city also welcomed the Jakarta LRT, constructed and operated by city-owned PT Jakarta Propertindo. It began operation on Dec.1 after a 1.5-year delay from its initial target to begin operation for the 2018 Asian Games.
