Courtesy of LRT CITY

The much-awaited light rapid transit (LRT) and MRT development now under way has lured developers to build residential properties using the transit-oriented development (TOD) concept.

The first phase of the LRT project covers 43.5 kilometers connecting Bekasi-Cawang, Cibubur-Cawang and Cawang-Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta. The first phase of the MRT project covers 16 km, 10 km of which is an elevated rail with a depot in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, and the remaining 6 km is an underground rail that terminates at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

When completed, the LRT and MRT public rail services are expected to change the lives of Jakartans, especially in their day-to-day transportation habits. The availability of the LRT and MRT is expected to prompt a shift in transportation use, from private vehicles to public transportation services.

Jakarta, as the nation’s business and political center, has long been a target destination among urbanites. The already heavy traffic in the Jakarta Special Region, with its 10 million population, has been exacerbated by the influx of private cars from areas surrounding the city, such as Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Bodetabek).

Data at the Greater Jakarta Transportation Management Agency (BPTJ) shows that in 2016, around 1.4 million motorized vehicles entered the capital each day from Bodetabek, of which 423,000 vehicles, or 31 percent, came from Tangerang, 426,000 vehicles (31 percent) from Bogor and 571,000 vehicles (38 percent) from Bekasi.

The government has taken strategic, long-term measures to try and solve the traffic problem by developing an extensive mass transportation system, ranging from the Commuter Line trains to the TransJakarta busway, and now to the LRT and MRT.

To bolster these measures, it issued Government Regulation No. R377/AJ.208/BPTK/2017 on technical guidelines for developing TOD residential areas in Greater Jakarta. It has also issued Government Regulation ATR-BPN/No.16/2017 on guidelines for transit-oriented regions.

While the MRT and LRT are expected to solve traffic issues in Jakarta, major property developers are eyeing areas close to LRT and MRT stations, especially those in the residential property sector.

Several developers are currently engaged in building residential properties close to these stations under the transit-oriented development (TOD) concept. The concept integrates residential areas with public transportation, so the tenants of these residential structures, mostly apartments, will have easy access to public transportation.

“I think many changes are taking place. The TOD, which has been raised frequently in recent discussions, is one such change. The concept will become massive and will become the favored project of the future, because it promises that people will not become trapped in Jakarta’s traffic congestion,” Mina Ondang, director of global real estate services firm PT Cushman & Wakefield Indonesia, said as quoted by rumah.com.

“The goal of the TOD concept is to integrate mass transportation with a residential estate, which, in the future, will be able to reduce the daily volume of private cars,” she said.

The developers are targeting the middle class, which is experiencing rapid growth in parallel with growing urbanization and changes in lifestyle demands.

“The middle class population will continue to grow, which explains the growing demand for property,” said Mina.

Quality time

One indicator of the successful application of the TOD concept in an area is when more people are observed to be living there, pursuing daily activities like going to work or to school and shopping on foot by utilizing the nearby public transportation facilities.

Living close to a hub station will save time spent on travelling to transportation facilities. For those with families, this means that they can spend more quality time with their families, unlike today, when more time is being spent stuck in traffic.

“Travelling by LRT from Bekasi to Dukuh Atas on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, will take around 45 minutes, compared to the two or more hours it currently takes by private car,” said Amrozi Hamidi, general manager at PT Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk. TOD and Hotel Department, explaining how the use of mass transportation translated into time management benefits.

“This means your quality of life will improve. You will have more time with your family without losing your productive hours,” he added.

Apart from being free of the stress and anxiety caused by traffic congestion, those who lived in a TOD-concept apartment would have more open space, because fewer private cars were expected on the road leading to the property. This would also mean that the air around the residence would be clean and unpolluted.

The TOD residential projects take into account the supporting aspects of connection, transit, shift, densify, cycle, public transport, compact and mix. Connection meant that the buildings in the estate were interconnected, while transit meant ease in switching from one mode of transportation to another, said Amrozi.

Densify concerned the greater allowance of open spaces for residents, so the residential structures were vertical. “Compact means that supporting facilities are located close to each other,” he said.

“When it comes to road use, priority is given to pedestrians or those who ride bicycles,” he said.

Several property developers, including Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk. TOD and Hotel Department, are engaged in developing TOD residential properties that are located only a step or two steps away from LRT/Commuter/Bus station.

“Developers have to comply with the regulation in implementing their TOD projects,” Amrozi said, referring to Government Regulation No. R377 for Greater Jakarta.

Amrozi said that the development of LRT City is expected to provide and build new civilization for urbanites in Jakarta and at the same time suburbans in the buffering areas

Several LRT City projects currently under way include LRT City Bekasi-Eastern Green, LRT City Jaticempaka-Gateway Park, LRT City Sentul-Royal Sentul Park, LRT City Ciracas-Urban Signature, MTH 27-MT. Haryono, Cisauk Point-Cisauk and Oase Park-Ciputat.

In building the TODs, the developers were collaborating with state-owned enterprises, which owned most of the land adjacent to mass transportation facilities.

LRT City will build more than 50 towers of apartments with comprises more than 30.000 units.

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