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MRT accessibility in spotlight ahead of launch
While thousands of passengers have hailed their experiences in the trial run of the country’s first-ever modern subway system, MRT Jakarta, others have questioned the lack of supporting facilities for the service such as parking and sidewalks
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span>While thousands of passengers have hailed their experiences in the trial run of the country’s first-ever modern subway system, MRT Jakarta, others have questioned the lack of supporting facilities for the service such as parking and sidewalks.
Taking his first MRT trip on Thursday, Rasis Maulana said he left his motorcycle at his home in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten as he registered himself to try the new train-based transportation.
“There is no official MRT parking lot in Lebak Bulus station as far as I can see. I took an online motorcycle taxi from my home to the station as it is only 3 kilometers away,” the 25-year-old told The Jakarta Post.
Another resident Ramadhani Fasna, 26 ended up missing out on her trial run on Wednesday.
“I searched for a parking space [in Lebak Bulus and Fatmawati stations], but I couldn’t find one near either station. So I decided to continue driving to my office [in Kuningan, South Jakarta] instead,” Ramadhani said.
There are actually several options for parking near Lebak Bulus Station, such as at the Transmart supermarket or Poins Square Mall, approximately 500 meters away, or only a minute’s walk.
These parking areas are rarely full but they charge hourly rates of Rp 2,000 (14 US cents) per hour for motorcycles and Rp 4,000 per hour for cars.
Some residents who live near the station also provide several parking lots only for motorbikes located about 1 km away. Many workers in the area park their motorbikes there as the rates are cheaper than in the larger commercial car parks with a flat tariff of Rp 5,000 a day.
Located in a denser area than Lebak Bulus, Fatmawati Station has even fewer parking facilities. The closest lot is at the Fatmawati Hospital building, about 500 m from the station with rates starting at Rp 3,000 per hour for cars and 2,000 per hour for motorbikes. There is also a parking lot at the Fatmawati Festival shop-houses complex, which is 1 km from the station with the same rates.
However, both lots are often full and they are not specially designed park-and-ride facilities.
Sandy Apriliansyah, coordinator of the Pedestrian Coalition, an activist group campaigning for pedestrians’ rights, said it had noticed several roads near the two stations had inaccessible sidewalks. Some sidewalks were not equipped with ramps, tactile pavings or speed bumps.
“They are only 500 m to the stations but are less than a meter wide. Wheelchair users need a 1.8-m sidewalk. It shows that accessibility to the MRT station has not been considered carefully,” Sandy said.
Bina Marga Jakarta road agency head Hari Nugroho said sidewalk construction along the area was only handed over to the agency last year, thus construction would take time.
“We are aware of it, and we will immediately include it in our program,” Hari said.
PT MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar said the company was working on seven potential parking areas near Lebak Bulus and Fatmawati stations since both stations were on the southernmost line that would take passengers to the final station at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta.
He said at least five areas would be ready for use on March 24, including two parking facilities near Lebak Bulus Station, at the former National Police dormitory compound, and three near Fatmawati Station, namely at the city-owned hotel management firm PT Jakarta Tourisindo (Jaktour) land on Jl. Haji Muhasyim Raya, the Tripatra building and the South Quarter (SQ) building.
To facilitate commuters, MRT Jakarta and city-owned bus operator PT Transjakarta will provide shuttle buses from the SQ building as the location is 750 m to Fatmawati station.
“Besides SQ, all the park-and-ride areas are approximately 200 to 300 m from the stations, with flat daily rates. Maybe between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 a day. We will decide that later,” William told the Post recently.
Transjakarta also plans to provide new routes connecting areas in satellite cities such as BSD City and Bintaro in South Tangerang; and Depok and Cinere in West Java to encourage residents to use the bus service to reach Lebak Bulus and Fatmawati stations.
