Their concerns were shaped by lived experiences in the old days, with horror stories like roof-riding commuters falling off during sudden braking or having to share space with livestock in an air conditioning-less car.

But those old days are long gone. Jakarta’s various public transportation systems, including the KRL, TransJakarta bus rapid transit (BRT) system, Jakarta MRT and Jakarta LRT, now offer convenient travel, shuttling entire neighborhoods to offices, businesses and schools across the metropolitan area.

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Over iced tea in a busy Central Jakarta cafe a few weeks ago, the CEO of the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP), Heather Thompson, told me that environmental impact lies at the heart of it.

Thompson, who experienced Jakarta’s dubious public transportation quality in the 90s herself, explained that as the transportation sector is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the move from private vehicles to public transportation is paramount, followed later by electrification to reduce remaining fossil fuel consumption.

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