L

ack of accessibility could be an obstacle for Jakartans wishing to watch soccer matches at Wibawa Mukti Stadium during the 2018 Asian Games.

It is one of five stadiums hosting matches along with Patriot Candrabhaga in Bekasi, Gelora Bandung Lautan Api and Si Jalak Harupat in Bandung and Pakansari in Bogor, which are all situated in West Java.

The 30,000-capacity stadium, located in East Cikarang, Bekasi regency, is 42 kilometers from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta and 75 km from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang in Banten.

It takes nearly two hours to travel from Manggarai Station in South Jakarta to Cikarang, the nearest stop accessible by commuter trains, which connects Jakarta and the West Java town.

From the station it takes another hour and two angkot (public minivans) to reach the stadium.

“I prefer to use public transport to get to the stadium because of the distance.

“Besides, the parking area is not equipped with a roof,” said Ero Kusnara, 28, a soccer fan from South Cikarang who attended a match between Persib Under-19 and Persipura U-19 recently.

He said it took about an hour’s motorcycle ride from his home to the stadium.

Those using private cars may take the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road to reach the location.

However, this could lead to gridlock particularly during big matches when thousands of soccer fans are expected to attend the matches, because heavy vehicles commuting to and from the industrial area also use the same road.

Commuter trains’ limited operational hours will likely force spectators to take private vehicles to the stadium.

PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia (KCI), which operates the commuter line, has yet to make plans in anticipation of the influx of people traveling to the area.

KCI spokesperson Eva Chairunisa said the company currently did not plan to extend the train’s operational hours beyond the current schedule, which serves passengers at around 7 p.m. at the latest from Cikarang train station. An evening soccer match normally ends at 9 p.m.

“No changes are planned just yet, because we see that the slots have been full, ” Eva said when asked about the plan.

“However it depends on the situation later on and we may add additional trains during a particular time,” she added.

Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) spokesperson M. Danny Buldansyah said he had yet to communicate with the commuter train operator regarding the plans.

He added that the athletes would not have to endure traffic difficulties because they would be placed at hotels near the venue instead of at the athlete village in Jakarta.

“The travel time should not exceed 45 minutes. We have picked some hotels as candidates,” he said.

Inasgoc picked all soccer stadiums in the neighboring cities of Jakarta because the capital does not have any other suitable stadiums apart from the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Central Jakarta as Menteng Stadium in Central Jakarta and Lebak Bulus Stadium in South Jakarta had been demolished to pave the way for other development projects.

Construction of the long-planned BMW Stadium in Sunter, North Jakarta, meanwhile faces a stumbling block due to land dispute issues.

The GBK Stadium, which is the country’s biggest in term of seating capacity, will not host soccer matches during the Games and will focus on other sports.