TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
New bus routes to support MRT integration
Alternative routes: A Transjakarta bus runs past the Jagorawi toll road next to the under-construction light rapid transit railway in Jakarta on Wednesday
Change Size
A
lternative routes: A Transjakarta bus runs past the Jagorawi toll road next to the under-construction light rapid transit railway in Jakarta on Wednesday.(JP/Jerry Adiguna)
The year of integration in Jakarta’s urban mobility is upon us, with city-owned transportation company PT Transjakarta expanding its reach to support its integration with the light rapid transit (LRT) and MRT services, which are soon to begin commercial operations.
Transjakarta will launch six new bus routes heading to and from MRT stations to accommodate commuters from outside the city.
Transjakarta president director Agung Wicaksono told the press that the new routes would connect areas of Jatijajar and Cinere, both in Depok municipality, and Pondok Cabe in South Tangerang municipality with the Lebak Bulus MRT station in South Jakarta.
The other three new routes connect Jatijajar, Bintaro and Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) in South Tangerang, Banten, with Fatmawati MRT station in South Jakarta.
Agung said the firm, along with the Jakarta Transportation Agency, had established communication with transportation agencies in South Tangerang and Depok municipalities to obtain operating permits related to the expansion of the new routes.
He expected the service would start operating before the MRT trial run, which is slated to commence on March 12.
Transjakarta is optimistic it can provide MRT passengers taking part in the trial run with an integrated public transportation experience, as passengers can either take Transjakarta buses or public minivans managed under Jak Lingko — a one-fare public transportation scheme — after hopping on or off the MRT.
“The message is [encouraging passengers] to take Transjakarta buses before taking the MRT,” Agung said at City Hall on Monday.
He added that his side would establish a mechanism to ensure that passengers taking part in the MRT trial run also take Transjakarta feeder buses.
The MRT trial run will start from Lebak Bulus station and end at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta — spanning 10 kilometers of elevated railway and 6 km underground. The trial run will be conducted daily until the MRT officially opens.
Members of the public who are interested in using the MRT during the trial run can register in advance on the MRT website jakartamrt.co.id.
MRT Jakarta corporate secretary head Muhamad Kamaludin confirmed the aforementioned mechanism.
“Complete guidance will soon be available on the MRT website,” he said on Tuesday.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who tried out the MRT on Wednesday, expressed hope that Jakarta’s MRT lines would eventually total 200 km in length.
“We appreciate that we have finally built the MRT. It’s only 16 km now but in the next 10 years we need at least 200 km so that Jakartans’ public transportation needs can be fulfilled,” he said.
“The Jakarta governor is working on integrating all public transportation including the MRT, LRT and Transjakarta buses,” he added.
In terms of the new routes to support the operation of the MRT, Transjakarta operational director Daud Joseph said the type of vehicles used to serve the new routes would be adjusted to the customers’ needs and demands.
The firm has set a Rp 3,500 (25 US cents) fare for all the new routes — similar to the existing Transjakarta fare — except for those connecting Bintaro and BSD, which will be served by a premium bus called Royaltrans. A single Royaltrans trip will cost between Rp 20,000 and Rp 25,000.
Royaltrans buses will be available at Giant BSD in Serpong and Bintaro Trade Center in Bintaro, and will travel via the Jakarta Outer Ring Road before arriving at the Fatmawati MRT station.
Daud said the fare was still cheaper than going by private car.
“From BSD, for instance, people will have to pay toll fees, driver, fuel and car installments. On Royaltrans, you’ll just have to sit and you’ll arrive at Fatmawati,” he boasted.
As the bus service will not have a dedicated lane like other Transjakarta buses, Daud acknowledged that passengers may still get stuck in traffic.
“But we offer convenience,” he argued, emphasizing that such an attempt needed to address the high number of daily commuters living in Bintaro and BSD.
Transjakarta has also launched Jak24 — Jak Lingko public minivans serving a route between Senen and Pulogadung via Kelapa Gading LRT station in North Jakarta. The Jakarta LRT is expected to begin operating by the end of February.
There are already four Transjakarta bus stops in Corridor 1, serving the Blok M-Kota route, which have been connected with four MRT stations: Bundaran HI bus stop and station, Tosari bus stop and Dukuh Atas Station, Lebak Bulus Corridor 8 bus stop and Lebak Bulus Station, and CSW Corridor 13 bus stop and Sisingamangaraja Station.
Transjakarta technical and facility director Wijanarko said the firm was completing the construction of the integrated stops for both Transjakarta and the MRT.
He said the development of the CSW and Sisingamangaraja stops would wait for the winner of a design competition held by the firm and would be completed in the near future.
The soon-to-be-operational Velodrome LRT station in North Jakarta has also been connected with Pemuda Rawamangun bus stop.
State-owned commuter line operator PT KCI has also seen the opportunity to support the integration — which includes the payment scheme — by filing a request for approval with the central bank to allow its multitrip card to be used for other transportation modes in the capital.
