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MRT Jakarta hopes for clearer regulation, more authority over TOD development
City-owned PT MRT Jakarta believes clear-cut regulations will enable it to better plan transit oriented development (TOD) for the MRT’s first phase
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C
ity-owned PT MRT Jakarta believes clear-cut regulations will enable it to better plan transit oriented development (TOD) for the MRT’s first phase.
The TOD will comprise mixed-use development within walking distance to a transit station. The first phase of development in Dukuh Atas, Central Jakarta, was inaugurated last week by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.
“We’ll start by ensuring there is a facility to ease the transfer of people between transportation modes,” he said during the inauguration on Tuesday, referring to the Jl. Kendal underpass besides Sudirman Station.
“We have started from Dukuh Atas. Hopefully, other areas will follow suit,” he added.
Dukuh Atas has been the main transit point of four existing transportation modes, namely the MRT, commuter line, airport train Railink and Transjakarta bus service. In the future, it will also connect with LRT Jakarta and LRT Jabodebek.
“Hopefully this area serves as a milestone in transportation development in the capital,” Anies said.
With its position as a major transportation hub, the city administration seeks to transform Dukuh Atas into a mixed-use area.
The TOD, however, has seen little progress, as the city administration is still revising TOD-related regulations.
MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar said his side was expecting the revised regulation to include stronger authority granted to the firm.
“[MRT Jakarta] will have the authority to coordinate TOD planning. When the city administration issues urban design guidelines, we will be able to determine which [stakeholders] will build what but the final decision will be made by the administration,” he said after a press briefing on Monday.
William cited examples of assessing the land value and floor area ratio, as well as granting technical recommendations to developers involved in the TOD area.
“The presence of the MRT is increasing land value. If this is not properly managed, contributions from developers cannot be determined,” he said.
Gubernatorial Decree No. 140/2017 on MRT Jakarta’s appointment as TOD operator for phase one stipulates without further elaboration that the firm is assigned to coordinate land and/or building owners during the planning, development, maintenance and supervision of the designated TOD area.
Urbanist Yayat Supriatna from Trisakti University concurred with William, saying that MRT Jakarta should have been granted authority to materialize TOD.
“Who’s the person in charge of integrating all [transportation operators]? Because each operator has only been granted authority over their operation and station . So, there is still a gap between facilities managed by each transportation operator. What should be improved is the management of land and buildings [in the TOD area],” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
“Do not let MRT Jakarta work alone. It could propose cooperation [with operators and developers] and it is up to the city administration to decide,” he added.
The Jakarta Development Planning Board’s (Bappeda) transportation, tourism and culture division head, Douglas Batubara, acknowledged that the city administration still had to work to do in relation to TOD-related regulations.
“We are expecting mixed-use development, well-connected spaces and affordable housing around the transit area,” he said during a public discussion on transportation at City Hall on Tuesday.
Urbanist Hendricus Andy Simarmata from the University of Indonesia said the biggest challenge for TOD development in Jakarta was land utilization.
“Land use influences the behavior of people. [The city administration] must develop an ecosystem through land utilization that encourages people to use the transit service,” he said.
Andy said the city should include more requirements to support TOD during the revision of detailed spatial planning.
He further said that the current state of the integrated Dukuh Atas area would support TOD. However, evaluation must be regularly conducted.
“Does the existing integration financially benefit the operators? How is their ridership? How is passenger perception? Those apply to all transportation modes in Dukuh Atas,” he said.
