Budi Kaliwono, the president director of city-owned PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta), which operates the BRT system, said his company had prepared for “seamless integration” between the MRT station and the BRT shelter, so that passengers could easily switch between modes of transportation.

Budi played down recent criticism that the two modes of transportation were not well integrated.

During an election debate last week, Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan brought up the issue of integration of transportation networks. Anies claimed the BRT’s Corridor 13 was proof that the city administration under the leadership of incumbent Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama had failed to integrate transportation networks.

According to Anies, BRT passengers would work up a sweat as they had to take steep stairs and walk nearly 500 meters to reach the nearest MRT station.

Budi said the distance between the CSW shelter and the station was actually just 50 meters, while the distance for the passengers from the lift door to the entrance of the MRT concourse was 125m.

“Our standard for passengers to switch modes of transportation is 400m. Therefore, the 125m distance is good,” he said at a recent press briefing.

(Read also: Five MRT stations to be integrated with Transjakarta bus stops)

The CSW shelter was recently in the spotlight, as it is perched on an elevated road, 24m above the ground. The city administration initially only provided stairs, which were deemed too steep and not pedestrian-friendly, especially for children, elderly and people with disabilities. Only later did Transjakarta decide to construct elevators to address the issue.

Budi said his company would use its own funds to construct the elevator at the shelter as well as at three other shelters. Meanwhile, another three shelters would be equipped with escalators, and the remaining five shelters would have only stairs.

“We are now designing the elevators. Those elevators will hopefully be ready on June 22, when we start operations,” he said.

The 13th corridor of the BRT system stretches 9.3 kilometers from Jl. Kapten Tendean in South Jakarta to Ciledug in Tangerang, Banten, while the MRT runs 5.8 km from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

Budi said the integration would be further enhanced once the MRT starts operating in 2019. The BRT is expected to serve 30,000 passengers per day.

Meanwhile, MRT Jakarta operational director Agung Wicaksono said integration with the MRT was a must.

“We believe that seamless integration will benefit both of us [the MRT and the BRT],” he said. The MRT is expected to cater to 173,000 passengers a day.

Separately, the head of the overpass and intersection division at Jakarta’s Bina Marga Agency, Heru Suwondo, said the city administration had agreed to leave the construction of the elevators to Transjakarta, because it would take longer should the agency manage the construction.

“We might need to revise our budget allocation in the middle of the year should we want to build the elevators by ourselves,” Heru said.

He said his agency was currently focusing on the completion of the BRT project. “It has reached 99.5 percent completion.”

According to Heru, his agency is acquiring two plots of land on Jl. Adam Malik in Ciledug, Tangerang, to widen the lanes.

“The landowners have agreed [to the prices], and they are now waiting for our payment,” he said.

Popular

Prone to fire and fresh air problems, people in Tambora figure out life in a slum area

Tycoon Musk touches down in Bali for Starlink launch

Red tape constrains AC supply as Jakarta heat drives demand