akarta may be commemorating its final anniversary this month as the national capital, but for more than 30 million people, the city will continue to be the country’s economic heart and the bustling hub of the largest metropolitan area in Southeast Asia.
Yet Jakarta will also continue to suffer under the weight of all the reasons it is losing special province status in the first place, foremost among them the legendary traffic jams that cause estimated losses of Rp 65 trillion (US$4 billion) each year.
To try to solve this complex challenge, the city administration has designed plans to navigate Jakarta out of its gridlocked roads. From a rail-based mass transit master plan to transit-oriented developments (TODs) near train stations, we explore how Jakarta aims to untangle its snarled streets and find a smooth path forward.
The “Big Durian” may be home to just 11 million residents, but it also caters to 20 million others in the satellite cities that make up Greater Jakarta. Last year, 21.75 million daily trips occurred in the city alone, with the vast majority, or 81.14 percent, using private vehicles.
It’s no wonder that the city was ranked 30th out of 387 cities for worst traffic congestion in the 2023 TomTom Traffic Index. Last year, the Dutch navigation firm found that it took an average 23 minutes, 20 seconds for a vehicle to travel just 10 kilometers in Jakarta, compared to 16 minutes, 50 seconds in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
But the Jakarta administration has an ambitious goal: By 2045, it wants to more than triple public transport use from 18.86 percent currently to 60 percent.
It might have been at a snail’s pace, but the Jakarta administration has actually been working to improve mass transit options since 2004, when year it launched the Transjakarta bus rapid transit (BRT) to complement the city’s existing public transport services within the city, such as the Greater Jakarta Commuter Line (KRL), city buses, angkot (public minivans), bemo (three-wheeled public vans) and bajaj (three-wheeled taxis).
Two decades later, Greater Jakarta commuters now have access to long-awaited modern rail services: the North-South line of the Jakarta mass rapid transit (MRT) connecting Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle (Bundaran HI) in Central Jakarta; the Jakarta light rapid transit (LRT) that runs from Pegangsaan Dua in North Jakarta to the Jakarta International Velodrome in East Jakarta; and the Greater Jakarta LRT that carries passengers from the West Java cities of Bekasi and Depok to Jakarta.
Jakarta Transportation Agency Syafrin Liputo explains the rail-based public transport masterplan.
The road- and rail-based public transport services available today in Jakarta cover 89.3 percent of the city, according to the Jakarta Transportation Agency.
Agency head Syafrin Liputo said the city would see even more massive rail developments in the coming years.
“The Jakarta administration has declared rail-based transport as the backbone of urban transportation in Jakarta. Therefore, we are developing the railway networks massively,” Syafrin told The Jakarta Post.
The Jakarta administration has declared rail-based transport as the backbone of urban transportation in Jakarta. Therefore, we are developing the railway networks massively
Why trains?
“Because one [train] can take more passengers, hence more people with activities in Jakarta can move in one go,” he replied.
The city administration is drafting a bylaw on Jakarta’s transportation master plan that spans the next two decades. Under this master plan, an extensive railway network spanning some 200 km will branch out from the existing 21.8 km of the first phases of the Jakarta MRT and Jakarta LRT.
This expansion plan includes the ongoing construction of the second phase of the Jakarta MRT to extend it from Central Jakarta’s Bundaran HI to North Jakarta’s Ancol, scheduled to commence partial operations in 2027, and the Jakarta LRT extension from the Velodrome in East Jakarta to Manggarai in South Jakarta targeted for full operations by 2026.
Furthermore, phase one construction on the Jakarta MRT’s new east-west line, running from Medan Satria at the border of Jakarta and Bekasi to Tomang in West Jakarta, is expected to break ground this year.
This is part of a larger plan connecting Cikarang in West Java to Balaraja in Tangerang regency, which will be managed by the provincial administrations of West Java and Banten.
The expansion plan also aims to see the Jakarta LRT eventually shuttling commuters to Klender and Halim in East Jakarta, Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in North Jakarta and Rajawali in Central Jakarta, as well as building the Pulo Gebang-Joglo line.
Another planned line that could be part of either the Jakarta MRT or LRT aims to link Karet in South Jakarta, Pesing in West Jakarta and Rajawali Kemayoran in Central Jakarta, as well as Pulo Gebang in East Jakarta, JIS and Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) in North Jakarta and Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta.