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MRT spurs business activity around stations
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People crowd Bundaran HI Station in Central Jakarta to try out the MRT. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama)
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usinesses around stations had been suffering while the MRT was under construction but have been reinvigorated since operations for the first phase began in March, taking advantage of the increasing number of people using the new mode of transportation.
Several coffee shops around Cipete Raya Station in South Jakarta now find themselves in a prime location to serve commuters. One of them is Excelso, located on Jl. Fatmawati Raya, less than 50 meters from one of the MRT station exits.
Its manager, Felix, told The Jakarta Post that the three-story building the shop stood in had been around for quite a while and for a long time had only housed Japanese restaurant Ko’ji, which had been operating for two years on the second floor.
“It was not until July that we decided to set up a coffee shop on the ground floor, just below the restaurant, given that, besides being close to the MRT station, the building is also close to the Lotte Mart [supermarket],” he said on Saturday.
“So far, the presence of the MRT is very helpful for our business, because many passengers stop by, especially on weekdays,” Felix said, adding that he hoped his business could vice versa be a center for boosting a public transportation lifestyle, where more customers visiting the coffee shop would also take the MRT.
The first MRT route is 15.7 kilometers long and has 13 stations from Bundaran HI Station in Central Jakarta to Lebak Bulus Station in South Jakarta.
Vanka, who works at the Kopi Ketje coffee shop a few doors away from Excelso, concurred, saying the brand’s 10th branch in Jakarta, which had only opened at the end of August, had never been quiet in its first week of operation.
