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MRT to be inaugurated Sunday amid fare uncertainties
Joy ride: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right), accompanied by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) and several Cabinet ministers, rides the MRT Jakarta from Bundaran HI Station in Central Jakarta to Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta on Tuesday
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oy ride: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right), accompanied by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) and several Cabinet ministers, rides the MRT Jakarta from Bundaran HI Station in Central Jakarta to Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta on Tuesday. The MRT jakarta will begin operating commercially on March 24. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
The country’s first MRT in Jakarta is getting closer to commercial operations, as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is set to inaugurate the new transportation mode on Sunday, marking a new era of the country’s urban transit system.
Citizens, however, are largely in the dark about ticket prices, with city councillors mulling over a subsidy scheme proposed by the Jakarta administration.
Jokowi and his ministers took part in a trial run for MRT Jakarta on Tuesday, going on a round trip from the station at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta to Lebak Bulus Station in South Jakarta. It was Jokowi’s second time riding the MRT.
Running from March 12 to 24, the trial run is open free to the public at 13 stations along a 15.7-kilometer route.
“We are happy that the public has shown great enthusiasm for the MRT,” Jokowi told reporters on board the train. “We are hoping that in the future everyone will use the train.”
The President said MRT Jakarta marked a “new culture and a new era”, as the transportation system was expected to change the way people commute in the capital and reduce the use of private vehicles.
The Jokowi administration, hoping to reduce chronic traffic congestion in Greater Jakarta, is looking to create an integrated public transportation system that includes the MRT, the light rapid transit (LRT) system, Transjakarta and the airport train.
A study by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) revealed that congestion costs Rp 65 trillion (US$4.58 billion) in annual losses, Jokowi said. However, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the losses amounted to Rp 100 trillion annually.
In a meeting on Tuesday morning, Jokowi said he and leaders of local administrations in Greater Jakarta’s satellite cities agreed to speed up the development of the integrated mass transportation system, including by setting up a new entity to handle the integration process.
“We must be able to finish the [integration] in a period of 10 years, with a total investment of up to Rp 571 trillion,” Jokowi said.
The President, who is seeking reelection, is also set to lead the groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of MRT Jakarta during Sunday’s inauguration, weeks before voting day for the presidential election in April.
The second phase of the MRT spans 7.8 km, connecting the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to Kota Station in West Jakarta. The project is expected to be completed by 2024.
Jakarta’s LRT, which connects the Velodrome in Rawamangun in East Jakarta to Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta, is set to begin commercial operations in April. The schedule of inauguration remains under discussion.
The administration’s calculated fares for the MRT and the LRT stand at Rp 32,000 and Rp 42,000 per passenger per ride respectively.
The administration proposed variable fares of Rp 10,000 per 10 km for 65,000 MRT passengers per day and Rp 6,000 for 14,255 LRT passengers per day.
With the proposed fares, the city administration would have to allocate Rp 572 billion in subsidies for the MRT and Rp 327 billion for the LRT this year alone.
In a meeting on Tuesday, a councillor at Commission B overseeing economic affairs said he hoped Jakartans would enjoy free MRT and LRT rides this year.
“A subsidy must be right on target and reduce congestion, but there should also be a policy related to Jakartans. Can the city budget afford it? We will need to see the calculations,” Commission B head Abdurrahman Suhaimi, who is also a member of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said.
Head of Commission C overseeing finance and Democratic Party member Santoso said the proposed subsidies were deemed too high and the council must take into account the possibility that the number of passengers increases through to 2021.
MRT Jakarta finance director Tuhiyat said that the MRT was expected to transport 65,000 passengers per day this year, followed by 91,000 in 2020, 117,000 in 2021 and 130,000 in 2022. Meanwhile, the LRT is expected to see a rise in passengers from 14,225 per day this year to 40,000 in 2021.
