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Less popular LRT Jakarta prepares for launch
Two new modern transportation services in the capital city, MRT Jakarta and LRT Jakarta, have been lauded by many as key factors that can improve Jakarta’s public transportation
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span>Two new modern transportation services in the capital city, MRT Jakarta and LRT Jakarta, have been lauded by many as key factors that can improve Jakarta’s public transportation. But as the newly launched MRT has been widely celebrated by residents and officials alike, less attention was received by the short-distanced LRT.
The MRT, which serves a 15.7-kilometer route from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, was officially inaugurated by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Sunday with thousands of residents joining the fun by taking a trial ride on the country’s first subway service. Meanwhile, in another part of the city, the LRT is still undergoing work on its six stations that connect Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta to Velodrome, Pulogadung, in East Jakarta.
The service’s launch date, initially scheduled ahead of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, has been pushed back several times with the latest inauguration date scheduled for next month. City-owned property firm PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), which operates the LRT Jakarta, also conducted two operational trials involving passengers from Aug. 15 to Sept. 14 last year and from March 4 to 17.
There were 11,070 people involved in 210 round trips in the trial last year.
The March trial saw not only passengers, but also efforts to familiarize people with the Jakarta administration’s Jak Lingko fare integration scheme, as the trial was available for passengers of JAK24 angkot (public minivans) connecting Pulogadung to Pasar Senen, Central Jakarta, via Kelapa Gading.
LRT Jakarta had yet to compile the results of the March trial, but the company claimed to have reached the expected target of 50 people on weekdays and 200 people on Fridays and weekends trying out the service, LRT Jakarta project director Iwan Takwin said.
“The trials went according to our expectation without any problems,” Iwan told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The company is currently doing a general checkup of LRT facilities, after which it should receive a recommendation for operation from the Jakarta administration. The recommendation letter is part of the requirements to obtain an operational permit from the Transportation Ministry.
“We are still waiting for the administration on the launch date,” Iwan said.
The Jakarta Council decided on Monday to set the LRT fare at Rp 5,000 (35 US cents), cheaper than Rp 6,000 per person proposed by the city administration. To be able to offer such as fare, the Jakarta administration needs to pay subsidies of Rp 36,654 per ticket as the actual price the company needs to charge to break even is Rp 41,654 per passenger.
The first phase of the LRT is a 5.8-km route that cost Rp 6.8 trillion to construct. Each train can carry 270 passengers and once fully operational, the LRT is expected to serve up to 76,140 passengers per day.
There have been rising concerns that the LRT will not be as popular as the MRT. Not only because of its short route and lower-capacity services, but its location far from the city center is also feared to contribute to a dwindling ridership.
But Iwan was confident the LRT would attract local residents who need to go to other parts of the city.
“The LRT is not intended only to be used in isolation, but in integration with other modes of transportation, he said.
With angkot under Jak Lingko, LRT Jakarta will also integrate with the Transjakarta network, with several LRT stations directly connected to bus stops to boost ridership. Particularly for Velodrome station, Jakpro has begun construction on a skywalk to connect the station to Pemuda Rawamangun bus stop, from where passengers can take buses to Dukuh Atas. The skywalk was expected to be completed in April before the launch, the company’s president director Dwi Wahyu Daryoto said.
Jakpro has also planned for the second phase of the LRT to extend the service from Velodrome to Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, with an estimated project cost of between $500 million and $600 million.
Transportation expert Djoko Setijowarno of the Indonesia Transportation Society said LRT Jakarta might not have as big an impact as the MRT considering that its current route covered less than six km and was far from the city center.
“LRT Jakarta must find a way to create one package to reach the city center, for example with a fare of around Rp 5,000 for a single trip on the LRT but Rp 7,000 for trips combined with other modes of transportation,” Djoko told the Post.
People that have tried the LRT Jakarta praised the service but said they were unlikely to use it every day.
One such passenger was 19-year-old Faqihuddin Alfarisi, who took a trial ride on March 9 from Velodrome station situated near his campus at Jakarta State University (UNJ). He commended the facilities as well as the train operation. But, as he rides a motorcycle to go from campus to his dormitory in Pondok Kopi in East Jakarta or to his parents’ house in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten, he said the LRT needed to integrate with as many modes of transportation as possible as well as providing park-and-ride facilities for people like him who have gotten used to travelling by motorcycle.
