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'Ojek' shelters to reduce crowds at stations
As people regularly use app-based ojek (motorcycle taxi) services to get to MRT or commuter line stations, shelters for ojek have become an apparent need at stations, some of which have equipped themselves with such spaces
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span>As people regularly use app-based ojek (motorcycle taxi) services to get to MRT or commuter line stations, shelters for ojek have become an apparent need at stations, some of which have equipped themselves with such spaces.
At Lebak Bulus Station in South Jakarta, MRT Jakarta set up a transit plaza where app-based ojek drivers can park and wait for customers. The plaza is also where MRT commuters are encouraged to place their orders.
MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar said the transit area was MRT Jakarta’s solution to the need for feeder services.
“This is a pragmatic form of transportation and the reality of [the need for] integration at MRT [stations],” William said Tuesday.
William said he expected commuters, both those heading toward Lebak Bulus and those departing the station, to use the transit plaza, especially when ordering ojek or private motorcycles. Meanwhile, cabs, Transjakarta buses and angkot (public minivans) already have their own dedicated lanes at the station.
The transit plaza is expected to prevent crowds of ojek drivers from forming in and around the station.
The plaza, William said, was located on a plot of land belonging to private developer Poins Square, which also owned a mall and apartment building in the area.
He said more transit areas would be built at MRT stations, especially at elevated stations, and at some underground stations, with the cooperation of nearby developers.
Phase one of MRT Jakarta is 16 kilometers with 13 stations — seven stations between Lebak Bulus Station and Asean Station are elevated while the remaining six stations from Senayan Station to Bundaran Station are
underground.
William said other stations that would soon have transit plazas included Cipete Raya, Fatmawati and Blok M.
He said the transit plazas were expected to increase ridership and provide a boost to business at the MRT stations and their surrounding areas.
“With good integration there will be more passengers. The MRT still relies on [feeder services for] the first mile and last mile, so with integration like this our ridership will increase,” William said.
MRT Jakarta serves around 90,000 passengers daily, with a target of serving 100,000 passengers by year-end.
Meanwhile, tech decacorn Gojek introduced Tuesday its GoRide and GoCar Instan services at Lebak Bulus Station, providing customers with the option to order directly at the transit plaza.
Monita Moerdani, Gojek transportation marketing vice president, said the service was also available at the Depok Baru and Sudirman commuter line stations, Dukuh Atas MRT Station and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport’s Terminal 2.
Monita said Gojek was looking to expand the service, particularly at stations.
Ride-hailing company Grab offers the same kind of motorcycle taxi service with GrabNow, which is available to customers wherever there are Grab drivers.
Jakarta Transportation Agency head Syafrin Liputo said that with transit plazas that collaborated with app-based services from companies such as Gojek and Grab, the crowds caused by drivers were expected to reduce.
“Right now, online taxi drivers occupy the streets at a massive scale and create congestion and crowds in certain spots, including stations. With collaborations like this, such as with Gojek and the MRT, we can reduce congestion,” Syafrin said.
He said the model could be replicated in other locations where crowds often formed.
He said Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 12/2019 already stipulated that online motorcycles taxi operators must provide shelters for their drivers.
As land owned directly by the city administration was limited, Syafrin suggested that online taxi operators collaborate with the private sector to provide shelters.
For drivers, the shelters were helpful as they provided passengers with places to wait without causing congestion.
Since August, a plot of land used for Blora Market has been used as an ojek shelter.
Meanwhile, at Tanah Abang Station, a shelter for conventional ojek drivers is located within the station grounds in front of the main gate on Jl. Jatibaru Bengkel. The Jakarta Transportation Agency was looking for space for a shelter for app-based ojek drivers, Syafrin said.
Eko, 41, a conventional ojek driver, said his fellow drivers banded together to negotiate with state railway company KAI to allow them to operate in the area, which they had been doing since 2016.
